World Happiness

and COVID-19 Policies

How did implementations of COVID-19 policies

affect the measure of happiness across the world?

Objective

The objective of this project is to examine the effects of various COVID-19 policies on world happiness levels, and to discover any correlations between these policies and well-being. The study investigates four key policies implemented during the pandemic including stay-at-home requirements, face mask mandates, income support measures, and vaccination policies. As we look into large-scale datasets on world happiness and COVID-19 policies, we seek to determine how different public health measures fulfilled by a country affect the overall happiness of its people.

Significance

By investigating the relationship between COVID-19 policies and world happiness, this project seeks to provide insights that can inform future public health decisions on policy during pandemics or other similar crises. Such findings may have significant implications for policymakers, as we explore how specific laws and measures affect the people it is enforced on, to ultimately encourage policies that protect the wellbeing of individuals and communities.

*People wait in line for a COVID-19 test in Los Angeles, Jan. 4, 2022. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong, File)*

Findings

Through analysis, it was found that there is statistically significant evidence that supports the idea that there is a correlation between the happiness of a country and the severity of the level of policies implemented by the government. The vaccination policy and income support policy level showed a positive correlation, whereas an increased severity of stay-at-home restrictions and face-covering enforcement was associated with a decrease in happiness. The strength of this correlation is extremely consistent across the three measured years (2020, 2021, 2022) for all policies with the exception of vaccination policy, which only had a meaningful correlation in 2021 when vaccines were not universally available or unavailable. Comparing the explanatory variables such as social support and freedom of life also supported these conclusions. Overall, it is safe to say that government responses to the Coronavirus pandemic had significant effects on the happiness level of the population.

Introduction of Covid Policies Timeline

In the dropdown below, we give a preliminary reasoning and motivation to why we choose to analyze each specific COVID-19 policies against the levels of world happiness.

Stay at Home Requirements

We first investigate the implementation of stay-at-home requirements, which aimed to limit the spread of COVID-19 by restricting individual’s mobility and social interactions. We compare the strictness of this policy against happiness measures to assess the impact of these policies on wellbeing, particularly in how it affects the public opinion of their access to freedom and social support.

Face Mask Mandates

We examine the effects of face mask mandates on world happiness. Adopted widely as a measure to prevent the transmission of COVID-19, face masks were implemented into COVID-19 policies to enforce public compliance. With many disputing the legitimacy of masks and its effectiveness, we seek to measure the correlation of mask mandate strictness and the perception of corruption.

Income Support Policies

With the influx of economic disruptions globally during the pandemic, we see not only new public health policies but also efforts from governments introducing and implementing financial assistance and relief to affected individuals and businesses. We seek to understand the influence of financial stability on overall wellbeing, based on how far the government went to provide income support compared to the subjective opinions of positive and negative affect.

Vaccination Policies

Finally, we look into vaccination policies as countries adopted varying strategies in distribution, prioritization, and public awareness. By examining the accessibility of vaccinations and the extent of population coverage, ranging from limited availability to universal access to particular groups of people, we aim to identify the impact of vaccine availability on global happiness levels.