Eudaimonic happiness as a leading health indicator: cross-country European evidence

Eudaimonic happiness (measured in terms of sense of life) is a relatively unexplored subjective wellbeing indicator. The empirical findings presented in this paper show that it has a significant and quantitatively remarkable correlation with the future insurgence of some chronic diseases and the reduction of most functionalities in the ageing population. These results document that eudaimonic happiness is a relevant leading indicator of future health outcomes and expenditure and that its correlation is independent from that of the traditional life satisfaction measure.