Using PISA 2018 data from nearly half a million 15-year-olds across 72 middle- and high-income countries, this study investigates the relationship between economic development and adolescent subjective well-being. Findings indicate a negative log-linear relationship between per-capita GDP and adolescent life satisfaction. The negative nexus stands in stark contrast to the otherwise positive relationship found between GDP per capita and adult life satisfaction for the same countries. Results are robust to various model specifications and both macro and micro approaches. Moreover, our analysis suggests that this apparent paradox can largely be attributed to higher learning intensity in advanced countries. Effects are found to be more pronounced for girls than for boys.

本研究使用来自 72 个中等和高收入国家近 50 万 15 岁儿童的 PISA 2018 数据，调查经济发展与青少年主观幸福感之间的关系。研究结果表明，人均 GDP 与青少年生活满意度之间存在负对数线性关系。这种负面关系与相同国家的人均 GDP 和成人生活满意度之间的正相关形成鲜明对比。结果对各种模型规范以及宏观和微观方法都是稳健的。此外，我们的分析表明，这种明显的悖论在很大程度上可以归因于发达国家更高的学习强度。发现对女孩的影响比对男孩更明显。