Foundations of Quantitative Happiness: Economic Growth vs Life Satisfaction

ZHOU Weisheng, Ph.D., Professor of College of Policy Science, Ritsumeikan University.Prof. Zhou graduated from Zhejiang University and received his Ph.D. from the Graduate School of Kyoto University. He has served as chief researcher and research advisor of the Research Institute of Innovative Technology for the Earth (RITE), a special professor of Osaka University. His books include "East Asian Low-Carbon Community" (Springer, 2021), "Studies on Sustainability in the SDGs Era" (Hōritsu Bunka Shuppan, 2022), "Nuclear Power Safety and Governance in East Asia" (Routledge, 2023), "Creep-Fatigue Fracture:Analysis of Internal Damage" (Springer, 2024), and others. Prof. Zhou analyzes and evaluates various economic, social, and technological policies that contribute to economic development, stable energy supply, and environmental protection. By seeking optimal environmental strategies that take into account equity, efficiency, and regional characteristics, he links his research to international recommendations for sustainable development and the realization of a broad low-carbon society. He also conducts quantitative evaluations related to economic growth and life satisfaction. His research interests include energy systems, environmental economics and policy, policy engineering, and sustainability science. He is a Foreign Fellow of the Engineering Academy of Japan (EAJ).

LIN Xiangwei, Ph.D., Research Fellow, Research Institute of Global 3E.Dr. Lin graduated from Ritsumeikan University, majoring in life satisfaction and political science. Based on theoretical and empirical research on life satisfaction, Dr. Lin conducts research to clarify the relationship between economic growth and life satisfaction in Japan and China, as well as the determinants of life satisfaction. Based mainly on an interdisciplinary perspective such as statistics, economics, and sociology, Dr. Lin quantitatively analyzes the determining factors of life satisfaction using probit analysis, principal component analysis, structural equation modeling, and path diagrams, and conducts empirical analysis of the relationship between life satisfaction and economic growth and its determining factors.

QIAN Xuepeng, Ph.D., Professor of the Graduate School of Global Environmental Studies, Sophia University. Prof. Qian received his Ph.D. degree from the Department of Environmental Systems Engineering of Ritsumeikan University in 2007, and worked as a lecturer in the same department, then as an assistant and associate professor in Ritsumeikan Asia Pacific University from 2010 to 2021 before his current position. Dr. Qian specializes in urban environmental planning. He has worked on urban and environmental issues such as urban development, transportation, resource sustainability, water, energy, and low carbon through interdisciplinary and systems approaches. His research interests focus on exploring the visions of urban and regional sustainability, and how to plan and promote transformations for sustainable development. Dr. Qian has published more than 80 papers in English and Japanese journals and served as guest editor for several international journals.