Measures that increase social equality are effective in improving life satisfaction in times of economic crisis

BMC Public Health

Table 2 Results (Beta (SE)) of multilevel analysis of satisfaction with life (individual level)

	Satisfaction with life (β/SE/Sig)	Total	Pre FC	Post FC
Social inequality alone	Gini index	− 0.070 (0.003)^***	− 0.030 (0.006)^***	− 0.094 (0.008)^***
Social inequality alone	Unemployment	−1.315 (0.019)^***	− 1.386 (.031)^***	−1.240 (.024)^***
Social inequality controlled for welfare generosity (PPS)	Gini index	− 0.052 (.004)^***	− 0.027 (.007)^***	− 0.053 (.009)^***
	Unemployment	−1.360 (.020)^***	−1.454 (.035)^***	− 1.274 (.025)^***
	Total public expenditure social protection PPS	0.030 (006)^***	0.006(.022)^NS	0.114 (.012)^***

All analyses using multilevel (country levels). Russia and Ukraine removed from analysis due to missing data
Baseline included controlled for gender, age, and age², with all three variables entered as fixed
Range: Unemployment = 0–1 (No/Yes); Gini = 23.7–42.3; Social expenditure in PPS per thousand = 1.3–12.0
FC Financial Crisis, PPS = Common currency in which national accounts aggregates are adjusted for price level differences using PPPs.
NS = Not Significant; * p < 0.05; ** p < 0.01; and *** p < 0.001

ISSN: 1471-2458