THE EFFECT OF GROSS DOMESTIC PRODUCT (GDP) GROWTH, INFLATION AND INVESTMENT ON THE HAPPINESS INDEX IN SOUTHEAST ASIA

Abstrak

This study aims to analyze the happiness index in the Southeast Asian region using three
independent variables, namely GDP growth, Inflation and Investment in 2013-2023 in 9 ASEAN
countries, namely Indonesia, the Philippines, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam, Laos,
Cambodia and Myanmar. Brunei Darussalam was not used due to data limitations and Timor
Leste was not used because it had just entered ASEAN in 2022 The panel data was processed
using Eviews 12 software with a fixed effect model approach (results from the chow test and
hausman test). The results of the study show that GDP growth has a negative and insignificant
effect on the happiness index in the Southeast Asian region. Meanwhile, Inflation and Investment
had a positive and insignificant effect on the happiness index in the Southeast Asian region. This
indicates that inflation and investment are important for long-term economic growth and
development, their impact on happiness is not always significant. Social, environmental, and
economic benefit factors play an important role in determining people's happiness.