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  • © 2018

Politics and Quality of Life

The Role of Well-Being in Political Outcomes

  • Establishes a data-driven, empirically valid metric for quality of life
  • Explores the role quality of life plays in determining social and political outcomes
  • Gives suggestions for incorporating life quality in the political and policymaking process

Part of the book series: SpringerBriefs in Political Science (BRIEFSPOLITICAL)

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Table of contents (10 chapters)

  1. Front Matter

    Pages i-ix
  2. Understanding Quality of Life

    • Ryan M. Yonk, Josh T. Smith
    Pages 7-16
  3. Exploring the Components of Our Quality of Life Index

    • Ryan M. Yonk, Josh T. Smith
    Pages 17-34
  4. Constructing a Measure of Well-Being

    • Ryan M. Yonk, Josh T. Smith
    Pages 35-50
  5. Quality of Life in Theory and Practice

    • Ryan M. Yonk, Josh T. Smith
    Pages 51-63
  6. Quality of Life and Trust

    • Ryan M. Yonk, Josh T. Smith
    Pages 65-75
  7. Quality of Life and Direct Democracy

    • Ryan M. Yonk, Josh T. Smith
    Pages 77-86
  8. Local Tax Ballot Measures and Quality of Life

    • Ryan M. Yonk, Josh T. Smith
    Pages 87-97
  9. Federal Spending and Quality of Life

    • Ryan M. Yonk, Josh T. Smith
    Pages 99-104
  10. Using Quality of Life in Public Policy

    • Ryan M. Yonk, Josh T. Smith
    Pages 105-109
  11. Back Matter

    Pages 111-133

About this book

This book explores the relationship between quality of life, policy, and political behavior. Using carefully collected, granular data, the authors create a measurement of quality of life for each county in the United States. After applying the index to each county and calculating scores, the results are applied to key political and social questions, such as, variation in voter turnout, electoral choices, and the allocation of federal aid. By tying quality of life directly to social and political outcomes, the index thus makes possible the development of policies that actually improve the quality of life of those they effect.

This book is divided into three sections. Section One delves into the theory of quality of life research and the indicators used in the development of the index. Section Two explores the relationship between quality of life and various political phenomena such as trust in government, political participation, electoral politics, direct democracy, government spending, and local government. Section Three discusses suggestions for incorporating life quality in the political and policy process and identifying strategies for the direct application of these principals by policymakers. This book will be useful for students and scholars interested in political behavior, political sociology, policy, and quality of life studies, as well as policymakers interested in incorporating quality of life studies in their work.  

Authors and Affiliations

  • Utah State University, Logan, USA

    Ryan M. Yonk, Josh T. Smith

About the authors

Ryan M. Yonk is Senior Research Fellow at Freedom Trust, a Research Fellow at the Independent Institute, and an Instructor in the Department of Political Science at Utah State University. Formerly held academic positions at Utah State University and Southern Utah University. He received his Ph.D. in political science from Georgia State University. His recent works include The Reality of American Energy, Nature Unbound: Bureaucracy vs. the Environment, Green Vs. Green: Conflicts in Environmental Priorities as numerous journal article and policy reports focused on public policy and political economy.

 Josh T. Smith is a Master’s student in economics at Utah State University (2018). His recent works include several journal articles and numerous policy reports focused on public policy and political economy. 

Bibliographic Information

Buy it now

Buying options

eBook USD 39.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book USD 54.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Other ways to access