Inflation strangling residents’ happiness: No satisfaction

2013-12-12

From：Macau Daily Times

The Macau Polytechnic Institute (IPM) and the Macau Economic Association have published the Macau Residents Happiness Index Survey 2013. Although the index has risen a little this year, scholars point out that some resident groups have been affected by the high inflation rate, which has led to their sub-
indexes dropping significantly. It is recommended that the government strive to control inflation in order to change the situation.
The survey was done in the second half of November. 1,106 adult residents were interviewed on the street. They were asked to rate their happiness from 0 (most unhappy) to 10 (most happy).
The result shows that the happiness index in 2013 has risen by 0.07, to 6.98. Dr Lao Chi Ngai, Chairman of the Executive Board of the Macau Economic Association, commented that Macau’s happiness index is relatively high on a global scale: “If you look at the global ranking, although the indexes (of different countries) are not the same, the number is between 7 and 8. Our index is approaching 7. Therefore, we have a very high happiness index by a global standard.”
However, he suggested that some sub-indexes changed quite rapidly compared to last year. There are two of them that could even be considered ‘failed’, which include the satisfaction with commodity prices and transportation. According to the figures, residents rated their satisfaction of living costs 4.62 and transportation 4.98, which are significantly lower than the index of personal financial satisfaction (6.69) and satisfaction of health conditions (7.28).
Moreover, the survey indicated that the gap in the happiness index between people who have offspring and those who don’t is narrowing, with the latter rising in the fourth consecutive year to 6.78, while the former stays around 7.1. Dr Lao explained that this can be an indicator of the increasing burden of the cost of living in Macau. “As we consider the social and economic development of Macau… the ones that don’t have children, their (financial) pressure may be lower in comparison to the ones who have children. Therefore, we record an increasing trend for the ones who don’t have children.”
Furthermore, the age group of 66 years old or above recorded the lowest happiness index throughout all the age groups, dropping from 7.68 in 2012 to 6.73 this year. This result, Dr Lao suggested, can again be attributed to the high inflation rate. He claimed that people of advanced age are most likely to be retired and living on their savings. A high inflation rate means that their consumption power is weakened. Therefore, this group of people is more likely to be less happy with their lives. In fact, the lower index point in this age group is also echoed by the low index point in the retired population. The happiness index of the retired interviewees is only 6.54 – 0.78 lower than that of housewives and 0.43 of employed people.
Out of all the industries, people working in education, social services, and health services scored the highest happiness index, reaching 7.36. The industry with the most significant drop is the manufacturing industry, with the index dropping from 7.89 in 2012 to 6.73 this year. However, Dr Lao said that the number of interviewees from the manufacturing industry is very small. Therefore, this decline might not be as significant as it seems.
In conclusion, the scholar claimed that some of the sub-indexes are warning signs for the government, and has recommended that the government adopt different measures to tackle inflation. “We should expand the sources of imported commodities, especially agricultural products, to have better cooperation with our neighboring districts, such as the Guangdong province. We should also have more cooperation with the Guangdong government surrounding food safety and food production, in order to reduce food costs.”

Copyright@Macau Daily Times