Quality of life, subjective well-being and democratic consolidation in Ecuador

Abstract

The analysis of individual satisfaction and citizens’ quality of life is paramount by the interdependence with democracy consolidation that exists nowadays in Ecuador. A proposal to calculate a synthetic indicator of satisfaction of citizens on the subjective wellbeing (SWB) in Ecuador based on fuzzy logic method and the degree of similarity to ideal solutions is developed in the study. The information is obtained through the application of a structured survey based on the European Social Survey to the Ecuadorian society to a sample of 416 Ecuadorians. The analysis is based on eight different dimensions of individual satisfaction, namely: (1) Life; (2) Economy; (3) City Government; (4) Transparency; (5) Education; (6) Health System; (7) Roads; and (8) National Government. The results are discussed according to three segmentation variables: gender, age and marital status. The results show that men experience more individual satisfaction than women; generation Y is more satisfied than other age groups; and those who live with couples without being married are more satisfied than single and married citizens.