Effects of multifaceted consumption on happiness in life: a case study in Japan based on an integrated approach

Motivated by the ever-increasing importance of happiness in public policy and limited studies about the influences of various consumption choices on happiness, we made an initial attempt to clarify the influences of a larger set of consumption variables (77 variables covering eight major life domains) on whole-of-life happiness and on happiness at the domain level, by collecting data from 2,178 respondents residing in various cities across Japan in 2010. We proposed an integrated approach to identify factors that influence happiness based on an exhaustive Chi-squared automatic interaction detector (CHAID) approach and to quantify the degree of influence of each factor based on a Bayesian belief network (BBN) approach. The results from the exhaustive CHAID approach provide inputs to the BBN approach. As a result, 41 out of the 77 consumption variables were found to influence happiness. Whole-of-life happiness is influenced by a different set of consumption variables to happiness at the domain level. Income only influences whole-of-life happiness, but it is not the most influential factor. Saving is most important to enhancing people’s whole-of-life happiness. One’s current work-life balance does not matter for happiness. Education-related consumption variables are only associated with negative affective experiences, and surprisingly, they are unrelated to whole-of-life happiness. The effects on happiness of expenditure- and residence-related consumption variables and of consumption choices to maintain an active lifestyle are mixed. Unfortunately, none of the residence-related variables influences whole-of-life happiness. Communication with neighbors is important to positive affective experiences. Finally, we argue that happiness issues might be better captured within the framework of the life-oriented approach. © 2015, Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg.