This research paper addresses the endemic dimensions of having or not
having a good life using a concept of poverty based on self-reported subjective well-
being. We build a subjective well-being poverty (SWBP) line and compare it with two
income poverty (IP) lines. The endemic dimension comes from rural Ecuador and the
indigenous happiness idea of Buen Vivir (Living Well), which has been the focus of
growing attention in the scientific and the political arena. Discrepancies between
SWBP and IP are deeply explored building models that explain SWBP with IP, as
well as control variables and Buen Vivir related variables. We show that income poor
households are more likely to be poor in terms of their reported subjective well-being.
However, households that grow their own food and are in an indigenous
community are less likely to report to be subjective well-being poor. The results
suggest that low SWBP values in contrast with high IP may be explained by
idiosyncratic components of the Buen Vivir philosophy. The components of the
Buen Vivir ethos related to SWBP give rise to the idea of building multidi-
mensional concepts of poverty based on what ethnic people consider to be good
or bad for their specific way of life. In a general context, our study raises the
importance of considering poverty and its dimensions taking into account the
endemic factors of specific groups of people and cultures. That is, to take into
account what is important for their lives.Financial support from the Spanish Ministry of Economics and Competitiveness
(Project ECO2012-32189) and the Government of Andalucía (Project P11-SEJ-7039 and Project P12-SEJ-
1436)
