Subjective Well-Being of Poor Households

Abstract

In the neoliberalizing world, social policy practices are declining. However, social assistance, which is one of the important tools of social policy, is crucial in terms of reducing poverty while also ensuring the reproduction of labor. There are limited number of studies investigating the influence of social assistance which helps poor people to meet their needs in-kind or in-cash on subjective well-being. Using 2013 Income and Living Conditions Survey from TURKSTAT, this study contributes empirically in this inquiry by looking at effects of the social assistance on subjective well-being. For this purpose, partial proportional odds model was used. According to the results, being recipient of social assistance has been found statistically significant as predictors of subjective well-being. Also, social assistance has a negative effect on subjective well-being. This outcome of the study suggests that people who receive social assistance feel poorer, therefore they report themselves less likely to be happy.