Using PISA 2018 data from nearly half a million 15-year-olds across 72 middle-income & high-income countries, this study investigates the relationship between economic development and adolescent subjective well-being.
Findings: indicate a negative log-linear relationship between per-capita GDP and adolescent life satisfaction. The negative nexus stands in stark contrast to the otherwise positive relationship found between GDP per capita and adult life satisfaction for the same countries. Results are robust to various model specifications and both macro and micro approaches.
Moreover, our analysis suggests that this apparent paradox can largely be attributed to higher learning intensity in advanced countries. Effects are found to be more pronounced for girls than for boys. [We define learning intensity as the product of quantity and complexity of learning tasks completed by a student within a given time period, eg. a school year.]
[Keywords: economic development, adolescent life satisfaction, learning intensity, education competition, mental cost, PISA]
