Economía del bienestar : análisis del caso Latinoamericano : satisfacción con la vida y evasores del dolor ¿Cómo influye el consumo de alcohol en el bienestar subjetivo?.

Abstract

The economic activity, measured by the production of goods and services, is not an end in itself, instead, it has value to the extent that it contributes to human happiness: economic growth, and the consequent increase in generalized income, although influential in providing access to goods and services, do not necessarily imply an increase in individuals' perception of well-being (Easterlin, 1974). So, analyzing factors such as comparative success, subjective poverty, inequality, culture, and the ability to exercise inherent freedoms in anthropological and economic behavior (Bruno Frey, 2002; Sen, 1999; Helliwell & Putnam, 2004) is necessary for better understanding well-being. Human development needs people to be able to meet their needs and exercise their freedoms. The absence of well-being is likely to lead to evasive behaviors of discomfort, which in the modern era can be reflected in compulsive dopamine-driven consumption, such as the use of drugs that allow individuals to tolerate frustrating realities (Hart, 2017; Hart & Ksir, Drugs, Society & Human Behavior, 2015; Cáceres Alvarado, 2018). Since alcohol is the most socially accepted drug, it is often the chosen object of incomplete substitute consumption by groups and individuals to evade pain. Thus, in addition to the classic indicators associated with Happiness (GDP per capita, growth rate, unemployment), there is evidence suggesting that the consumption of goods such as alcohol can positively influence subjective well-being, making it more tolerable to face hostile or difficult adaptive scenarios. Latin American countries present high subjective well-being indices compared to countries with better economic, political, and social security situations, mainly related to the cultural factor that promotes closer and more intimate personal relationships. This work aims to investigate whether there is a statistical relationship between life satisfaction, income level, inequality, alcohol consumption, and the Latin American cultural component. To do this, an empirical exercise is carried out that, using panel data, allows us to present evidence that, in effect, alcohol consumption has an association with the subjective well-being of individuals.