93

Sustainable Consumption in Terms of Subjective Well-being in Asia
Tetsuya TSURUMI1*, Rintaro YAMAGUCHI2, Kazuki KAGOHASHI3
and Shunsuke MANAGI4
1

Faculty of Policy Studies, Nanzan University,
18 Yamazato-cho, Showa-ku, Nagoya 466-8673, Japan
2
Social Systems Division, National Institute for Environmental Studies,
16-2 Onogawa, Tsukuba-shi, Ibaraki 305-8506, Japan
3
Faculty of Global Liberal Studies, Nanzan University,
18 Yamazato-cho, Showa-ku, Nagoya 466-8673, Japan
4
Urban Institute & Department of Civil Engineering, Kyushu University,
744 Motooka, Nishi-ku, Fukuoka-shi, Fukuoka 819-0395, Japan*E-mail: tsurumi@nanzan-u.ac.jp

Abstract
This study presents an overview of our research on the association between consumption and subjective
well-being (SWB) to suggest implications for sustaining SWB within the context of environmentally
sustainable consumption. Future environmental burdens, such as reaching planetary boundaries, require us tosuppress overconsumption. For developed countries, where the population consumes disproportionately moreresources, considering how to sustain SWB even if people reduce their consumption levels is necessary. For
developing countries, where people are increasing consumption as their economies develop, considering how torealize high SWB while considering future environmental restraints is imperative. Therefore, for bothdeveloped and developing countries, improving SWB-per-unit consumption is important. We conducted fivesurveys in rural and urban Vietnam and Japan from 2016 to 2021. Our estimation results suggest the following:(1) Paying attention to relational consumption rather than material consumption is important; (2) for material
consumption, a sharing economy based on strong social capital is efficient; and (3) for material consumption,individuals who take better care of their possessions exhibit increased SWB-per-unit material consumption. We
conclude that having individuals develop an attachment to material goods and value social capital is requisite
for improving SWB through material and relational consumption.
Key words: material consumption, relational consumption, subjective well-being, sustainable consumption

1. Introduction
If developing countries could emulate the current
consumption patterns of developed countries, the entire
world would be on equal footing regarding consumer
behavior. However, this scenario could exacerbate theincreasing global environmental burden. Furthermore, if
consumption levels in developed countries are not
reduced, existing problems will only be aggravated. To
realize sustainable global consumption (as advocated in
the ongoing discourse on planetary boundaries),
developed countries’ current consumption levels anddeveloping countries’ expected future consumption levels
must be reduced.
In this study, we investigated whether a lifestyleproviding optimal and sustainable utility to consumers
Global Environmental Research
25/2021: 093–099
printed in Japan

would be feasible for developed and developing countries.
If such a lifestyle can be clearly defined, a viableconsensus on sustainable consumption may be realized.
Moreover, establishing that an increase in consumption is
not necessarily correlated with an increase in subjective
well-being (SWB) may suppress rampant consumption.

2. Method
Given the limit on the absolute level of material
consumption implied by planetary boundaries, individuals
in developed countries must consider how to decrease
their absolute level of material consumption. As shown in
Fig. 1, if the current relationship between consumption
and SWB in developed countries corresponds to Path B, adecrease in consumption could lead to significant
2021 AIRIES

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T. TSURUMI et al.

decrease in their SWB. Therefore, a move from Path B to
Path A is required, as indicated by the arrow in Fig. 1.
Conversely, in developing countries, individuals expect
SWB improvements to accompany economic growth. To
suppress overconsumption and keep consumption levels
below planetary boundaries, we need to improve
individuals’ SWB-per-unit consumption. This could beachieved by changing from Path B to Path A. This would
enable consumption within planetary boundaries to avert
deterioration in SWB when consumption levels increase
along with economic growth. Therefore, a move from
Path B to Path A is also needed for developing countries.
Thus, to realize Path A, increasing SWB-per-unit
consumption is necessary, as represented by the arrow in
Fig. 1.
To this end, one important task is classifying
consumption. If individuals experience a higher degree of
SWB by consuming one product rather than another at thesame cost, they will achieve greater SWB. Studies havereported that social capital exerts a significantly positive
influence on SWB. Further, Bjørnskov (2003) reports thatsocial capital affects happiness to a greater degreecompared to income at least in developed countries. Thus,
relational goods or consumption may exert a significant
influence on SWB. Essentially, by engaging in
consumption involving social interaction, the consumer
may simultaneously experience greater satisfaction related
to social capital and a corresponding increase in SWB.
Limit of consumption based on Planetary Boundary

Well-being
Path APath B

Consumption

Fig. 1 Effect of decreasing or increasing consumption levels on
SWB based on planetary boundaries. Source: Tsurumi et al.
(2021a).

Table 1 Our original surveys.
Survey period
Survey 1
March 2017
Survey 2

March 2018

Survey 3

March 2019

Survey 4

March 2020
(follow-up survey ofsurvey 3)
November 2020, March
2021 (follow-up survey
to Survey 1)

Survey 5

Because the environmental load from relational
consumption is not necessarily insubstantial, we must be
careful not to equate an increase in consumption with adecrease in environmental load. However, if thecorrelation between the completely solitary consumptionof goods and an increase in SWB can at least be affirmed
as difficult to establish, we can begin investigating
whether such goods should be unwelcome in the future.
We have focused not only on the total amount ofconsumption expenditure and types of consumption (i.e.,material and relational consumption) but also on
individuals’ various ways of thinking and beliefs, which
include the principle that it is best to lead a simple life
with minimal material possessions, belief in the
Confucian teaching that “a contented mind is a perpetual
feast,” Maslow’s hierarchy of needs (Love),environmental ethics, and attachment to material goods.
These beliefs can affect the relationship between
consumption and SWB and whether high SWB can beachieved through reduced consumption.
To examine the relationship between consumption
and SWB, we present the following equation:

SWBik  1  f consumptioni    j X ij  ... (1)jwhere i represents the individual and k represents the
SWB indicator of type k, with k being any of thefollowing five types: the Cantril Ladder, life satisfaction,subjective happiness, affect balance and eudaimonia.
1 is a constant. The main independent variable,
consumptioni, represents consumption of i (total
consumption or both material and relational consumption).
Xij represents control variables used in prior SWB studies(i.e., age, gender, level of subjective health, education,
marriage and having children). Furthermore, asconsumption expenditure is reported per household, we
also control for the number of people in the household.
Finally, αj represents coefficients, and ε is the uncorrelated
error term. To identify the different functional forms of
consumption clearly, we utilized nonparametric functions
for consumption. Regarding the other explanatory
variables, we accounted for parametric functions andapplied a semiparametric regression. Five surveys wereconducted from 2017 to 2021, as shown in Table 1.

Methods
Internet
surveyInternet
surveyFace-to-facesurveyFace-to-facesurveyCountry/region
Japan (nationwide)

Observations
N = 13,690 (valid responses: 9,635）

Vietnam (urban area)

N = 2,218 (valid responses: 1,370）

Vietnam (rural area:
Thieu Ngoc)
Vietnam (rural area:
Thieu Ngoc and Darsal)

N = 2,052 (valid responses: 1,921）

Internet
surveyJapan (nationwide)

Thieu Ngoc: N = 1,824 (valid responses
1,250), Darsal: N = 3,043 (valid
responses 2,435）
November 2020 (N = 2,500; valid
responses: 1,639), March 2021 (N =3,214; valid responses: 2,748)

Sustainable Consumption in Terms of Subjective Well-being in Asia

95

Table 2 Main survey questions.
SWB

Cantril ladderLife satisfaction
Subjective happiness
Eudaimonia
Affect balance (within a
week)Household income (US$)
Total consumption (US$)
Material consumption (US$)
Relational consumption (US$)

Survey question
Please imagine a ladder with steps numbered from 0 at the bottom to 10 at the top. The
top of the ladder represents the best possible life for you, while the bottom of theladder represents the worst possible life for you. On which step of the ladder would
you say that you stand at this time? Responses are given on an integer scale from 0 to
10.
Overall, how satisfied are you with your life? Responses are given on an integer scalefrom 1 (“not at all satisfied”) to 5 (“completely satisfied”).
Overall, how happy are you with your life? Responses are given on an integer scalefrom 1 (“unhappy”) to 5 (“very happy”).
Overall, to what extent do you feel that the things you do in your life are worthwhile?
Responses are given on an integer scale from 0 (“not at all worthwhile”) to 10(“completely worthwhile”).
How often have you felt or experienced the following feelings or actions? Pleaseanswer in terms of a week.
Positive affect: pleasure, enjoyment, smile.
Negative affect: anger, sadness.
Four-step evaluation; 4 = “often,” 3 = “sometimes,” 2 = “rarely,” and 1 = “not at all.”A balance of five affect categories derived from the average values of positive affectcategories minus those of negative affect categories.
Please tell us your yearly household income.
Approximately, how much does your household spend monthly on consumption?
What is the average monthly amount spent in your household to purchase “goods”(electrical appliances, furniture, clothes, shoes, publications and other sundries,
excluding expenditure related to housing, cars and bikes)?
What is the average monthly amount spent in your household on “consumption
relating to interactions with your family, relatives, friends and acquaintances” (e.g.,travel, gifts, dining with them in your own home or outside, excluding expenditure
related to housing, cars and bikes)?

Table 3 Our five analyses
Analysis 1
Analysis 2
Analysis 3
Analysis 4
Analysis 5

Theme
Relationship between consumption and SWB in Japan

Data
Survey 1

Effects of “way of thinking and belief” on the relationship between
consumption and SWB in Japan
Relationship between consumption and SWB in urban and rural Vietnam

Survey 1

Effects of attachment to material goods on the relationship between
consumption and SWB: Evidence from rural Vietnam
Relationship between consumption and SWB in Japan: Comparison of
before and during the COVID-19 pandemic

Surveys 2,
3, and 4
Survey 4
Surveys 1
and 5

Publication
Tsurumi et al.
(2020b)Tsurumi et al.
(2020a)Tsurumi et al.
(2021b)Tsurumi et al.
(2020c)Tsurumi et al.
(2021a; 2021c)

Table 2 presents the main survey questions. We conductedfive types of analyses, which are summarized in Table 3.
We present an overview of their results in the next
chapter.

3. Results
3.1 Analysis 1: Relationship between Consumption
and SWB in Japan (Tsurumi et al., 2020b)
Figure 2 presents simplified estimation results for the
relationshipbetweenmonthly
householdtotal
consumption expenditure and SWB. We found that total
consumption contributed to life evaluation (lifesatisfaction and the Cantril ladder), while emotional
well-being (affect balance) had a certain threshold. The
definitions of total monthly household consumption
expenditure and SWB are presented in Table 2. Figure 2
implies that increasing total consumption could improve
individuals’ life evaluation, which makes mitigating

Fig. 2 Consumption and SWB (Japan). Based on the
results of Tsurumi et al. (2020b).
Note: Vertical line corresponds to life evaluation (life satisfaction
and the Cantril ladder) and emotional well-being (affect balance).

rampant consumption difficult.
Figure 3 shows simplified estimation results of therelationship between material consumption and SWB, andthat between relational consumption and SWB. The
definitions of both material consumption and relational

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T. TSURUMI et al.

Fig. 3 Relational and material consumption and SWB (Japan).
Based on the results of Tsurumi et al. (2020b).
Note: Vertical line corresponds to both life evaluation andemotional well-being.

Fig. 4 Consumption and SWB in Japan (Overall sample andsubsamples). Based on the results of Tsurumi et al.
(2020a).
Note: Vertical line corresponds to life evaluation (lifesatisfaction).

Table 4 Definitions of subsamples.
Subsample
Subsample A
Subsample B

Subsample C
Subsample D-1, D-2, D-3,
and D-4

Definitions
Which of the following statements best describes your “ideal life”? Please select all options (as many
as you wish) describing your ideal life (sample selection “Living a simple life with minimal material
possessions": N = 2752).
Question: “A contented mind is a perpetual feast” is a Confucian teaching. Basically, “Human desires
are endless, but a person who is satisfied living within his means and does not crave for more is happy
and rich. A person who is pleased with today and has no complaints about the present is blessed with alife of contentment.” Do you believe in this teaching? (sample selection “I believe in it”: N = 3,541)
Regarding Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, how satisfied are your needs at stage 3 (Love)? (sample
selection: “Satisfied”)
Please tell us whether you agree with the following:D-1. Irreversibility: Once destroyed, the natural environment can never be restored to its prior state(sample selection “Agree”: N = 3,027).
D-2. Intergenerational equity: We must pass on to future generations the natural and cultural legacy wehave received from prior generations (sample selection “Agree”: N = 2,967).
D-3. Intergenerational equity (with the cost of sacrifices): Even at the cost of sacrifices from ourgeneration, we must leave behind a natural environment in good shape for future generations (sample
selection “Agree”: N=1,836).
D-4. Immoderate damage: If things go on this way, there will be enormous environmental destruction
and disasters in the future (sample selection “Agree”: N = 3,438).
Sources: Ekins et al. (2003) and Ekins (2014)

consumption are shown in Table 2. We found that
relational consumption contributed to all measures of
SWB without clear upper bounds. In contrast, material
consumption contributed to all measures of SWB only up
to certain thresholds.
3.2 Analysis 2: Effects of “Way of Thinking andBelief” on Relationship between Consumption
and SWB in Japan (Tsurumi et al., 2020a)
In Analysis 2, we investigated the relationshipbetween consumption and SWB using the subsamples
shown in Table 4. This study aimed to investigate whether
belief or environmental ethics affect the relationshipbetween consumption and SWB.
Figure 4 presents simplified estimation results. The
results show that, although there are no SWB (lifesatisfaction) satiation thresholds for total consumption
among people in Japan on average, there are satiationthresholds among some subsamples. A simplified SWB(life satisfaction) satiation point for these subsamples,
exclusive of “Subsample D-4: Immoderate damage,” isillustrated in Fig. 4. The implication is that thosesubsamples have no incentive for increasing their total

consumption after a certain threshold, which may
suppress overconsumption.
No satiation threshold exists for individuals who
have environmental ethics concerns, such as fear of
causing “immoderate damage.” Thus, we need toacknowledge that, even if we merely recognize the gravityof environmental problems (i.e., “immoderate damage”),
changing our relationship between consumption and SWB
is difficult. Additionally, our estimation results imply that
individuals who professed to fulfill Maslow’s hierarchy ofneeds (Love) may be connected with those who place
great importance on future generations’ wellbeing. Thus,
the concepts of irreversibility and intergenerational equity
could be similar to the concept of granting great
importance to social capital or future generations, which
may also suppress overconsumption.
3.3 Analysis 3: Relationship between Consumption
and SWB in Urban and Rural Vietnam (Tsurumi
et al., 2021c)
Analyses 1 and 2 suggest that (1) in Japan, total
consumption contributes to better life evaluations without
clear upper bounds; (2) however, a SWB saturation point

Sustainable Consumption in Terms of Subjective Well-being in Asia

for total consumption among individuals who have“certain ways of thinking and belief” exclusive of belief
in “immoderate damage” is evident in Fig. 4; (3)relational consumption contributes to all SWB measureswith no clear upper bounds, while material consumption
contributes to all SWB measures only up to certain
thresholds.
The above results, however, may be specific todeveloped countries. Therefore, Analysis 3 reveals therelationship between material and relational consumption
and SWB in rural and urban Vietnam. The simplified
estimation results for urban Vietnam shown in Fig. 5
suggest that neither the relationship between material
consumption and SWB nor the relationship between
relational consumption and SWB has any statisticallysignificant correlation. This may imply that SWB
saturation exists concerning material consumption even indeveloping countries. Moreover, it may imply that people
in urban Vietnam place little importance on social capital.
Conversely, the simplified estimation results in rural
Vietnam shown in Fig. 6, suggest that relational
consumption contributes to SWB without clear bounds.
This finding implies that people in rural Vietnam place
greater importance on social capital.
We also found a negative correlation between
material consumption and SWB. Our additional analysis
shows that individuals who exhibited a high frequency ofbartering have relatively high SWB. Overall, ourestimation results imply that SWB saturation vis-à-vis
material consumption can be observed even in developing

Fig. 5 Relational and material consumption and SWB (urban
area in Vietnam). Based on the results of Tsurumi
et al. (2021a).
Note: Vertical line corresponds to life evaluation andemotional well-being.

Fig. 6 Relational and material consumption and SWB (ruralarea in Vietnam). Based on the results of Tsurumi etal. (2021a).
Note: Vertical line corresponds to life evaluation andemotional well-being.

97

countries’ rural areas. Additionally, our results show that
relational consumption and material consumption cansignificantly increase individuals’ SWB if they havestrong connections with their neighbors or if they engage
in bartering. Our findings imply that a sharing economy
with strong social capital could be key to sustainableconsumption.
3.4 Analysis 4: Effects of Attachment to Material
Goods on Relationship between Consumption
and SWB: Evidence from Rural Vietnam(Tsurumi et al., 2020c)
In Analysis 3, we found that increased material
consumption was not associated with increased SWB in
rural Vietnam. If an increase in material consumption
diminishes SWB (as with economic development),
economic growth could have a negative effect on SWB.
Thus, considering how to increase SWB through material
consumption is necessary. Some individuals tend to use
the same material goods more extensively than others.
These particular individuals consume fewer material
inputs, other things being equal. In Analysis 4, weinvestigate whether these individuals are happier. To
examine individuals’ characteristics, we asked thefollowing: “Please select all applicable items. ‒ I want toutilize “goods” and look after them for as long as possible(attachment dummy = 1: applicable; attachment dummy =0: not applicable).” We then divided our sample into
Group A (with attachment) and Group B (without
attachment). Group A corresponded to “attachment
dummy=1” and Group B corresponded to “attachment
dummy=0.”
Figure 7 shows simplified estimation results. We
found that for Group A (individuals who take better careof their possessions), increased consumption is linked toincreased SWB (life satisfaction), whereas for Group B(individuals who do not take good care of theirpossessions), increased consumption is linked todecreased SWB. This implies that a lifestyle wherein
individuals take better care of their possessions increases
SWB-per-unit consumption. This finding also has a usefulpolicy implication for developing countries, who can
improve their SWB by promoting economic growthalongside responsible consumption.

Fig. 7 Material consumption and SWB (rural area in
Vietnam). Based on the results of Tsurumi et al.
(2020c).
Note: Vertical line corresponds to life satisfaction.

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T. TSURUMI et al.

3.5 Analysis 5: Relationship between Consumption
and SWB in Japan: Comparison of Before andDuring the COVID-19 Pandemic (Tsurumi et al.,2021b; Tsurumi et al., 2021c)
The COVID-19 pandemic may have had a great
impact on relational consumption because people havebeen required to spend more time indoors. Analysis 5
investigated the pandemic’s impact on SWB.
Figure 8 shows descriptive statistics on SWB (lifesatisfaction and affect balance) and consumption (material
and relational consumption) (see Table 2 for definitions)
before and during the COVID-19 pandemic in Japan.
Both life evaluation (life satisfaction) and emotional
well-being (affect balance) significantly decreased from
November 2019 to November 2020. Regarding
consumption, although material consumption exhibited
little change, relational consumption dramaticallydecreased. Further, we investigated the determinants of
SWB change before and during the COVID-19 pandemic.
We utilized two-period datasets: dataset A corresponded
to Survey 5, which covered 2019 and 2020 for the same
respondents, whereas dataset B corresponded to surveys 1
and 5 for the same respondents, comprising both March
2016 and 2020. The first-differences estimations wereapplied in the regression. We obtained similar estimation
results between Dataset A and Dataset B. The results
show that, for both life evaluation and emotional
well-being, approximately 50% of the decrease in SWB
can be explained by a decrease in relational consumption
after controlling for the effect of concerns surrounding
infection rates in individuals’ residential area. Thisimplies that relational consumption is the main

determinant of SWB and that the COVID-19 pandemic
had negative effects on SWB mainly by decreasing
relational consumption.

4. Conclusions
This study presents an overview of our research
regarding the relationship between consumption and SWB.
Analyses 1 to 5 suggest that the key factors to improving
SWB-per-unit consumption under the constraint ofplanetary boundaries are as follows: (1) paying attention
to relational consumption, rather than material
consumption is important; (2) for material consumption,
having a sharing economy based on strong social capitalis efficient; and (3) for material consumption, individuals
who take better care of their possessions exhibit increased
SWB-per-unit material consumption. Significantly,
relational consumption did not contribute to SWB in
urban Vietnam. Our survey data suggest that people inurban Vietnam place relatively less importance on social
capital than people in rural Vietnam and Japan. For people
in rural Vietnam, where strong social capital exists, andfor people in Japan, where people tend to recognize theimportance of social capital after experiencing social
capital losses related to urbanization, relational
consumption is key to improving SWB-per-unit
consumption. People in urban areas in developing
countries need to place greater importance on social
capital to improve their SWB-per-unit consumption.
Additionally, improving SWB through material
consumption requires placing greater importance on
attachment to material goods once again, so they are

LIFE SATISFACTION {1 — 5}

AFFECT BALANCE {‐3 — 3}
2020

0.05
‐0.14

‐0.14

3.17

Source: Tsurumi et al. (2021b).

2.54

2.69

3.13
2.37

2.89

3.41

2020
3.52

3.57

Fig. 8 Consumption and SWB before and during the COVID-19 pandemic (Japan).

2.54

2.96
2.31

3.65
3.14

3.33
2.64

3.40
3.29

3.78
3.78

3.75
3.72

‐0.14

‐0.14

2019

2020
3.56
3.51

3.79
3.64

3.49
3.32

3.76
3.98

3.65
3.61

‐0.20

RELATIONAL CONSUMPTION {10 THOUSAND YEN / MONTH}

MATERIAL CONSUMPTION {10 THOUSAND YEN / MONTH}
2019

‐0.14

‐0.14

‐0.04

0.02

0.06

0.12

0.19
0.10

0.09

2.95
2.55

2.94
2.52

3.01
2.56

2019

0.11

2020
2.88
2.50

3.16
2.61

2.82
2.42

2.95
2.62

2.95
2.53

2019

Sustainable Consumption in Terms of Subjective Well-being in Asia

99

preserved longer rather than being quickly discarded.
Thus, reestablishing individuals’ attachment to social
capital and material goods is necessary.
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Attachment to material goods and subjective well-being:
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Tetsuya TSURUMI
Tetsuya Tsurumi is an associate professor in the
Faculty of Policy Studies at Nanzan University,
Japan. His research interests include therelationship between economic development andthe environment and the effects of economic
development on subjective well-being. He has
published his research in academic journals such as the Journal ofEnvironmental Economics and Management, Ecological Economics,
Journal of Cleaner Production, and Journal of Happiness Studies. He is acoauthor of Handbook on Wellbeing, Happiness and the Environment.

Rintaro YAMAGUCHI
Rintaro Yamaguchi is a senior researcher at the
National Institute for Environmental Studies(NIES). He has moved back to academia after adecade of consulting experience for private andpublic sectors. He is passionate about genuinesavings and inclusive wealth accounting. Other research interests include,
but are not limited to, discounting, cost-benefit analysis, macroeconomic
dynamics and subjective well-being. He has many publications in general
economics journals and environmental economics journals.

Kazuki KAGOHASHI
Kazuki Kagohashi is an associate professor in
the Faculty of Global Liberal Studies and an
associate research fellow at the Nanzan
University Institute for Social Ethics (NUISE).
His research interests include the substitutabilityof natural capital (i.e., critical natural capital),determinants of sustainable development and social resilience, water
resource management, community-based drought adaptation and so on.
His current research project on social resilience at NUISE investigates thedeterminants of social resilience through case studies in which
communities could sustain their level of autonomy and well-being underadverse conditions of environmental/resource crises (such as droughts,
soil degradation, etc.).

Shunsuke MANAGI
Shunsuke Managi is a distinguished professor oftechnology & policy and director of the Urban
Institute at Kyushu University, Japan. He is adirector for the Inclusive Wealth Report 2018
(IWR, 2018), a lead author for the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC),a coordinating lead author for the Intergovernmental Platform on
Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES), a coordinating lead author
for the UNESCO International Science and Evidence based Education
Assessment, an editor for the journals Economics of Disasters andClimate Change and Environmental Economics and Policy Studies, andthe author of Technology, Natural Resources and Economic Growth:
Improving the Environment for a Greener Future.

(Received 17 June 2021, Accepted 30 July 2021)