Does Participation in Community Activities Increase One's Subjective Well-Being?: Quantitative Analysis Considering Causality and External Effect in Japan

Abstract

In recent years, interest in community activities has been growing. This study examines the causal relationship between community activity participation and subjective well-being, using data from a nationwide online questionnaire survey. The results show that participation in community activities increases the subjective well-being of individuals, and that it would also increase the well-being of non-participants through improvements of the local living environment and the propagation of the sense of well-being. These results support the significance of policy initiatives to community activities and indicate that such policies could be evaluated in terms of well-being.