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Factors that Influence the Life Satisfaction of Women Living in the Northern Cyprus

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Abstract

The main aim of this paper is to evaluate the life satisfaction among women living in the Northern Cyprus by focusing on socio-economic and gender related factors. Within this context, we aim to analyze the influence of socio-personal characteristics of Northern Cypriot women in regard to life satisfaction. To fulfill these objectives, a questionnaire survey has been applied to 510 women living in the major cities of Northern Cyprus. Applying an ordered logit model, this paper examines the role of several factors such as normal and social reference income, employment, and savings, health, and education, participation in the household expenditures, being a full-time housewife, domestic violence, political preferences, and perception of government performance on life satisfaction. The results demonstrate that good health, high education, high income, saving, high household income has positive effects on life satisfaction whereas domestic violence, being a full-time housewife, unemployment and social reference income has negative effects on life satisfaction.

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Notes

  1. We take the terms happiness, satisfaction, and subjective well-being interchangeably throughout the paper. The importance of using those terms interchangeably is that they do not explain a mood but a global assessment of satisfaction.

  2. A detailed literature review of happiness can be found in Kenny and Kenny (2006).

  3. For gender related perspectives on these issues see Cockburn (2004) and Hadjipavlou (2010).

  4. De facto is an expression that means “concerning fact”.

  5. Between 1977 and 2010 the GDP per capita increased from 1.444 to 14.703 US$.

  6. This data has been gathered from Birol Yesilada’s paper which was prepared for presentation at the Cyprus Congress Social Values of the Greek and Turkish Cypriots: 2005–2011 World Values Survey, Mersin University, October 12–14, 2012.

  7. De jure is an expression that means “concerning law”.

  8. Last birthday method (interviewer select a person in the household who had the most recent birthday) has been used in the survey.

  9. From the results it is seen that around 30 % of women are housewives, 10 % are currently unemployed, and 60 % are currently employed.

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Acknowledgments

The authors would like to thank Istanbul University Research Project Department (BAP) for funding and Muharrem Faiz, director of Cyprus Social Research (KADEM) for applying this survey.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Economics, Faculty of Economics, Istanbul University, Beyazit Yerleskesi, 24452, Beyazit, Eminonu, Istanbul, Turkey

    Ozge Gokdemir & Emine Tahsin

  2. Department of Economics (AE1), Maastricht University, P.O. Box 616, 6200 MD, Maastricht, The Netherlands

    Ozge Gokdemir

  3. Institute for the Study of the Americas, University of London School of Advanced Studies, Second Floor, Senate House (South Block) Malet Street, London, WC1E 7HU, UK

    Emine Tahsin

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  1. Ozge Gokdemir
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Correspondence to Ozge Gokdemir.

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Gokdemir, O., Tahsin, E. Factors that Influence the Life Satisfaction of Women Living in the Northern Cyprus. Soc Indic Res 115, 1071–1085 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11205-013-0265-3

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