Subjective economic well-being and its measurement: constructing and validating a questionnaire ⁷²²⁷

The concept of subjective economic well-being and its measurement is considered and construction and validation of a questionnaire is described. The subjective economic well-being is conceptualized as an individual’s mind-set to current and future economic position. It reflects holistic subjective (biased) relations of a person to the material aspects of life and reflects the position of personality in the fields of aspirations and material consumption. The subjective economic well-being scale consists of five components - economic optimism, subjective income adequacy, current family welfare, financial deprivation, economic anxiety. The procedure of validation is also described. In validation, tests high scorers (compared with low) are characterized by high estimate of their own income and satisfaction with financial situation, lower emphasis on financial security, high self-esteem, internality and self-confidence in the economic achievements, as well as satisfaction with life.

Keywords: subjective economic well-being, measurement of subjective economic well-being, subjective measurement of economic welfare

Column: Research Instruments