What can Scandinavia teach us about happiness?

There’s a lot going for Scandinavia. Not only is it the birthplace of IKEA and H&M, it’s also consistently top of the global happiness scales — occupying the top spots for the last 3 years running. At a time when mental health is at an all time low, it’s worth questioning: what makes these citizens so exceptionally happy?

The Power of Trust and Social Cohesion

Trust Fall: trusting our fellow citizens increases our happiness! Credit: Giphy

Think of your inner circle, your closest group of friends and family. What do they have in common?

Trust.

When we trust one another, we become happier.

Trust is an element of social cohesion, a reflection of social harmony within a community: the social glue if you like.

So what makes a socially cohesive country? Scholars suggest 3 points —

1. Strong social relations —the ties between citizens: trusting each other and accepting our diversities
2. Strong connectedness —the ties between citizens and institutions: confidence in our country’s institutions and belief that we’re being treated fairly
3. A shared focus on the common good — feeling responsibility for our community — abiding by the rules, willing to help others, and participating in society

A study on 27 EU countries showed that those of us in more socially cohesive countries are happier and psychologically healthier. The most socially cohesive countries were Scandinavian— a possible contributing factor towards Scandi happiness.

The Power of Government Quality

In countries with higher institutional quality, citizens are happier. Once again, Scandinavian countries tend to come out top.

When assessing our government quality, scholars look at 2 elements:

Our access to power, such as our ability to vote, influences our happiness. Credit: ComicsKingdom

1. Democratic quality — the ability of citizens to access power. Including selecting our government, freedom of expression, and political stability.
2. Delivery quality — how effectively governments exercise their power. This includes rule of law, controlling corruption and regulatory quality.

Interestingly, delivery quality is most strongly associated with our happiness globally. That’s not to say democratic quality isn’t important. It is. But only in countries already with high delivery quality, such as Scandinavia, does democratic quality play a greater role in our life satisfaction.

Sounds easy, right? … But not so fast…

What came first, the chicken or the egg? Or rather, what came first, citizen trust or effective governance? How can ineffective governments without citizen trust put forward the necessary reforms to begin with? Credit: Nintendo

So we’ve established that integral to Scandi happiness is trust and effective governance. Sounds easy on paper (or screen). But putting this into practice is difficult.

That’s because Scandinavian countries already benefit from well-functioning democracies that provide citizens with extensive benefits. Citizens are more likely to trust these institutions and each other, enabling further positive change: this is a virtuous cycle, a positive feedback loop.

By contrast, a country with ineffective governance and low citizen trust will find it harder to make reforms that will subsequently promote happiness: this is a vicious cycle.

How do we move from a low-trust equilibrium to a high-trust equilibrium?

These basic principles apply:

Culturally, we must build a sense of community and unity amongst citizens.

Institutionally, we must hold our governments accountable, ensuring they are effective and trustworthy.

In many ways, we’re already seeing this happen: the pandemic has seen communities unite to protect their vulnerable. We’re also paying closer attention to government actions. Let’s keep this up.

Saturday 20th March 2021 marks the International Day of Happiness. This celebration was established by the UN in 2012, recognising happiness as a “fundamental human goal”. How will you celebrate?

How will you celebrate International Day of Happiness 2021? Credit: Giphy.

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About the author

Jessy Zhang is a fourth year medical student at University of Cambridge, with interests in healthcare inequality, policy, and mental health. In her free time, she enjoys baking, reading and travelling!

References

1. The Nordic exceptionalism: What explains why the Nordic countries are constantly among the happiest in the world [Internet]. Worldhappiness.report. [cited 2021 Mar 8]. Available from: https://worldhappiness.report/ed/2020/the-nordic-exceptionalism-what-explains-why-the-nordic-countries-are-constantly-among-the-happiest-in-the-world/
2. Delhey J, Dragolov G. Happier together. Social cohesion and subjective well-being in Europe: HAPPIER TOGETHER-COHESION AND SWB. Int J Psychol. 2016;51(3):163–76.
3. Ortiz-Ospina E, Roser M. Trust. Our World in Data [Internet]. 2016 [cited 2021 Mar 8]; Available from: https://ourworldindata.org/trust