I feel good: Exploring the influence of social and environmental dimensions of regional development on the subjective well-being of European citizens

Paper Details

Authors: Oliva S.; Sedita S.R.; De Noni I.; Orsi L.

DOI: 10.1016/j.iedeen.2026.100305

Journal: European Research on Management and Business Economics

Year: 2026

Publisher: European Academy of Management and Business Economics

Document Type: Article

Open Access: All Open Access; Gold Open Access; Green Open Access

Cited by: 1

Abstract

This article investigates how regions’ ability to pursue sustainable development trajectories affects individual subjective well-being. In particular, it disentangles the social and environmental dimensions of sustainability by examining the relative role of social capital, public safety, and green innovation capacity in shaping individuals’ quality of life. Empirically, the study relies on a cross-sectional analysis of 255 European regions over the period 2000–2018, using data from the OECD Regional Well-Being database, OECD RegPat, ARDECO, Eurostat, the EU Labour Force Survey, and the EU-NED database. The results show that subjective well-being is positively influenced by all dimensions of sustainability, with social factors exerting a stronger effect than environmental ones. The conclusions highlight relevant policy and managerial implications for steering future regional development trajectories. © 2026 The Authors. Published by Elsevier España, S.L.U. on behalf of AEDEM. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/

Keywords

Environmental innovation; I3; Q01; R1; Social capital; Sustainable regional development; Well-being

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