Assessment of in-work poverty in Lithuania

Секция 3. Государственное регулирование и приоритеты социально-экономического развития в современных условия

Interaction Between Subjective Well-Being, Economic Activity and Education in the EU

The article examines the impact of professional well­being of EU citizens on their life satisfaction at both micro and macro levels. The following indicators were selected to describe the professional well­being: involvment in the official employment, level of education, and job satisfaction. The findings of the article suggest that employed respondents evaluated their subjective well­being significantly higher  as compared to those not participating in the labour market. Similar findings were drawn when comparing subjective well­being of the respondents in relation to their education. Respondents with higher education reported significantly higher statistically proven subjective well­being than those with lower education. In the article, the interpretation of the findings is based on the conceptual model of subjective well­being of needs as well as on the role of employment and education in satisfaction of physiological and socially acceptable needs of individuals. Work activity is more directly linked with the satisfaction of individual needs than education. However, engagement in work has only an impact on subjective well­being if work activity is perceived as job satisfaction. If employment is perceived by individuals as providing greater satisfaction, it tends to make a more positive impact on the subjective well­being of individuals compared to activities that are perceived as providing less satisfaction. Subjektyviosios gerovės sąveika su darbine veikla ir išsilavinimu ES šalyse Santrauka Straipsnyje siekiama įvertinti išsilavinimo, darbinės veiklos ir pasitenkinimo darbu poveikį ES šalių gyventojų subjektyviajai gerovei. Profesinei gerovei aprašyti pasirinkti tokie rodikliai, kaip dalyvavimas oficialioje darbinėje veikloje, išsilavinimo lygis ir pasitenkinimas darbu. Analizės metu nustatyta, kad darbinėje veikloje dalyvaujantys respondentai statistiškai reikšmingai palankiau vertina savo subjektyviąją gerovę nei darbinėje veikloje nedalyvaujantys respondentai. Taip pat ir respondentai, turintys aukštesnį išsilavinimą, statistiškai reikšmingai palankiau įvertino savo subjektyviąją gerovę nei turintys žemesnį išsilavinimą respondentai. Tokios tendencijos aiškinamos tuo, kad darbinė veikla suteikia individui geresnių galimybių tenkinti fiziologinius ir socialiai priimtinus poreikius, o aukštesnis išsilavinimas sudaro geresnių galimybių pasirinkti darbinę veiklą. Taip pat straipsnyje nustatytas stiprus koreliacinis ryšys tarp subjektyviosios gerovės ir pasitenkinimo darbu makrolygmeniu. Tai reiškia, kad šalyse, kuriose vidutinis pasitenkinimas darbu yra aukštesnis, vidutinė subjektyvioji gerovė taip pat turi tendenciją būti aukštesnė. Reikšminiai žodžiai: subjektyvi gerovė, pasitenkinimas darbu, išsilavinimas, profesinė gerovė

Subjective Well-Being in EU Countries in the Context of Economic Development and Social Policy

The article examines subjective well-being in EU countries in the context of economic development and social policy. The analysis carried out in the article is based upon the assumption from previous studies that the economic dimension is one of the most important factors influencing subjective well-being. The analysis revealed that subjective well-being in EU countries is more dependent on the level of economic development of the country measured by average income than on the orientation of national social policy measured by total social benefits as a percentage of GDP. Based on homeostatic theory of subjective well-being, income should be regarded as an external factor enabling members of society faced with social risks to maintain subjective well-being within the normative limits. Therefore, in the EU countries where the average income is higher, people have a better ability to sustain a higher level of subjective well-being than in the countries where the average income is lower. The findings of the article partially correspond to Marx's labour theory of value asserting that the owner of labour needs to get the equivalent corresponding to his or her value of labour including the amount required for satisfaction of needs in case the owner is faced with social risks. Thus, it is not that important in terms of subjective well-being whether, in case of social risks, the value of labour is ensured by the State or a market mechanism