A Study on the Structure of Quality of Life in OECD Member Countries

Abstract

This paper considers what constitutes the quality of life based on the review of theories and overseas cases. It then analyzes main factors of happiness in OECD countries, and measures weights and rankings of member countries by applying the principal component analysis to sub-indices, starting from OECD’s Better Life Index(BLI) with some portion of which amended in accordance with theories. As a result of the analysis, we found that stable living and fairness in income distribution are the foremost and second important factors, respectively, explaining happiness of OECD member countries. The former specifically implies that people in countries with stable household income and in economies with stable employment are healthier, living in pleasant dwellings, well-equipped with social capital, and enjoying happy life generally, while the latter is interpreted in such a way that countries with fairer distribution of wealth more likely have the lesser number of poor people and are surrounded by securer environment. Finally, it was derived that Korea ranked the 32nd, belonging to the lowest ranking group, compared with the rank of the 22nd in OECD’s BLI assessed with equal weights, which urgently call for government’s plans and actions to enhance happiness of people from a perspective of both growth and distribution.