Abstract: KyklosVolume 64, Issue 2 p. 178-192 Are Happier People Better Citizens? Cahit Guven, Cahit Guven Deakin University * School of Accounting, Economics, and Finance, Deakin University, Australia. E-mail: [email protected], Tel: +61 3 924 45087. Comments and suggestions from John Helliwell, Jenny Williams, and Mehmet Ali Ulubasoglu are gratefully acknowledged. I would like to thank seminar participants at the University of Melbourne, La Trobe University, and Deakin University.Search for more papers by this author Cahit Guven, Cahit Guven Deakin University * School of Accounting, Economics, and Finance, Deakin University, Australia. E-mail: [email protected], Tel: +61 3 924 45087. Comments and suggestions from John Helliwell, Jenny Williams, and Mehmet Ali Ulubasoglu are gratefully acknowledged. I would like to thank seminar participants at the University of Melbourne, La Trobe University, and Deakin University.Search for more papers by this author First published: 13 April 2011 https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-6435.2011.00501.xCitations: 47 Read the full textAboutPDF ToolsRequest permissionExport citationAdd to favoritesTrack citation ShareShare Give accessShare full text accessShare full-text accessPlease review our Terms and Conditions of Use and check box below to share full-text version of article.I have read and accept the Wiley Online Library Terms and Conditions of UseShareable LinkUse the link below to share a full-text version of this article with your friends and colleagues. Learn more.Copy URL Share a linkShare onEmailFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditWechat SUMMARY This paper offers new findings which support the hypothesis that a causal link from happiness to social capital might exist. The paper exploits the very long German socio-economic panel of around 15000 people. Using the prospective study methodology, it finds that happier people contribute more to social capital. Both parametric and nonparametric results suggest that there exists an inverted-U shape relationship between happiness to social capital. Moreover, optimism appears to be an important channel through which happiness is linked to social capital. The paper also presents residual happiness as a measure of optimism which might be a valuable tool for empirical researchers. The results are robust to inclusion of various controls including the initial level of social capital, random sampling, non-linearity, different measures of social capital, and estimation techniques. REFERENCES Becchetti, Leonardo, Alessandra Pelloni and Fiammetta Rossetti (2008). Relational Goods, Sociability, and Happiness, Kyklos. 61: 343–363. Berggren, Nicklas and Henrik Jordahl (2006). 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Citing Literature Volume64, Issue2May 2011Pages 178-192 ReferencesRelatedInformation