Temporal dimensions of reported life satisfaction in a low-income, agricultural environment

Improving quality of life of farmers in rapidly changing rural economies remains a challenge. In low income settings, agricultural lean seasons lead to a fall in consumption and nutrition that affect longer term well-being trajectories. However, human well-being goes beyond material wealth, and incr...

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Autores principales:	Helen Adams, Andrew Reid Bell, Md. Ehsanul Haque Tamal
Formato:	article
Lenguaje:	EN
Publicado:	Resilience Alliance 2019
Materias:	android odk bangladesh ecosystem services microtasks for micropayments seasonality subjective well-being Biology (General) QH301-705.5 Ecology QH540-549.5
Acceso en línea:	https://doaj.org/article/ccf8908b63904932b5a417eda6d464e9
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spelling	oai:doaj.org-article:ccf8908b63904932b5a417eda6d464e92021-12-02T12:01:44ZTemporal dimensions of reported life satisfaction in a low-income, agricultural environment1708-308710.5751/ES-11187-240429https://doaj.org/article/ccf8908b63904932b5a417eda6d464e92019-12-01T00:00:00Zhttp://www.ecologyandsociety.org/vol24/iss4/art29/https://doaj.org/toc/1708-3087Improving quality of life of farmers in rapidly changing rural economies remains a challenge. In low income settings, agricultural lean seasons lead to a fall in consumption and nutrition that affect longer term well-being trajectories. However, human well-being goes beyond material wealth, and increasingly subjective well-being is measured to reflect whether personal objectives are being met across a range of life domains. However, resource constraints mean surveys are usually carried out once a year, or at most, once a season. Here, we investigate whether life satisfaction reported annually is representative of assessments throughout the year, with a focus on the influence of the agricultural cycle on scores. We do so using data from a novel, mobile phone-based survey that collected 10,032 observations of life satisfaction reported weekly for one calendar year in land-owning farmers in Bangladesh. The data show that most individuals report stable and midrange life satisfaction. Smaller groups show consistently low, consistently high, or fluctuating levels of satisfaction. Using a cluster analysis, we define natural groups based on levels and stability of satisfaction. Social-demographics as well as material wealth predict membership of these groups showing the relative and culturally embedded nature of subjective well-being. Agricultural activities throughout the year are significantly associated with reported life satisfaction, but not always consistent with low seasons: land preparation and harvest are associated with increased life satisfaction; weeding and irrigation are associated with lower satisfaction. Furthermore, we show that the periods of activity during the agricultural cycle most likely to be associated with satisfaction vary depending on whether the individual reports high, low, or variable life satisfaction. Thus, we suggest, to improve well-being in low-income rural areas, analysis should include people's propensity to be satisfied, as this alters sensitivity to changes in other life domains.Helen AdamsAndrew Reid BellMd. Ehsanul Haque TamalResilience Alliancearticleandroid odkbangladeshecosystem servicesmicrotasks for micropaymentsseasonalitysubjective well-beingBiology (General)QH301-705.5EcologyQH540-549.5ENEcology and Society, Vol 24, Iss 4, p 29 (2019)
institution	DOAJ
collection	DOAJ
language	EN
topic	android odk bangladesh ecosystem services microtasks for micropayments seasonality subjective well-being Biology (General) QH301-705.5 Ecology QH540-549.5
spellingShingle	android odk bangladesh ecosystem services microtasks for micropayments seasonality subjective well-being Biology (General) QH301-705.5 Ecology QH540-549.5 Helen Adams Andrew Reid Bell Md. Ehsanul Haque Tamal Temporal dimensions of reported life satisfaction in a low-income, agricultural environment
description	Improving quality of life of farmers in rapidly changing rural economies remains a challenge. In low income settings, agricultural lean seasons lead to a fall in consumption and nutrition that affect longer term well-being trajectories. However, human well-being goes beyond material wealth, and increasingly subjective well-being is measured to reflect whether personal objectives are being met across a range of life domains. However, resource constraints mean surveys are usually carried out once a year, or at most, once a season. Here, we investigate whether life satisfaction reported annually is representative of assessments throughout the year, with a focus on the influence of the agricultural cycle on scores. We do so using data from a novel, mobile phone-based survey that collected 10,032 observations of life satisfaction reported weekly for one calendar year in land-owning farmers in Bangladesh. The data show that most individuals report stable and midrange life satisfaction. Smaller groups show consistently low, consistently high, or fluctuating levels of satisfaction. Using a cluster analysis, we define natural groups based on levels and stability of satisfaction. Social-demographics as well as material wealth predict membership of these groups showing the relative and culturally embedded nature of subjective well-being. Agricultural activities throughout the year are significantly associated with reported life satisfaction, but not always consistent with low seasons: land preparation and harvest are associated with increased life satisfaction; weeding and irrigation are associated with lower satisfaction. Furthermore, we show that the periods of activity during the agricultural cycle most likely to be associated with satisfaction vary depending on whether the individual reports high, low, or variable life satisfaction. Thus, we suggest, to improve well-being in low-income rural areas, analysis should include people's propensity to be satisfied, as this alters sensitivity to changes in other life domains.
format	article
author	Helen Adams Andrew Reid Bell Md. Ehsanul Haque Tamal
author_facet	Helen Adams Andrew Reid Bell Md. Ehsanul Haque Tamal
author_sort	Helen Adams
title	Temporal dimensions of reported life satisfaction in a low-income, agricultural environment
title_short	Temporal dimensions of reported life satisfaction in a low-income, agricultural environment
title_full	Temporal dimensions of reported life satisfaction in a low-income, agricultural environment
title_fullStr	Temporal dimensions of reported life satisfaction in a low-income, agricultural environment
title_full_unstemmed	Temporal dimensions of reported life satisfaction in a low-income, agricultural environment
title_sort	temporal dimensions of reported life satisfaction in a low-income, agricultural environment
publisher	Resilience Alliance
publishDate	2019
url	https://doaj.org/article/ccf8908b63904932b5a417eda6d464e9
work_keys_str_mv	AT helenadams temporaldimensionsofreportedlifesatisfactioninalowincomeagriculturalenvironment AT andrewreidbell temporaldimensionsofreportedlifesatisfactioninalowincomeagriculturalenvironment AT mdehsanulhaquetamal temporaldimensionsofreportedlifesatisfactioninalowincomeagriculturalenvironment
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Temporal dimensions of reported life satisfaction in a low-income, agricultural environment

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