Buen Vivir (living well) in Ecuador: Community and environmental satisfaction without household material prosperity?

- Buen Vivir philosophy centres on community, nature and food sovereignty.
- The policy debate is polarised between two positions: extractive and conservationist.
- Income and employment factors are related to higher satisfaction.
- Distinctive Buen Vivir factors are related to higher satisfaction.
- Policies should aim to respect the community and nature while reducing poverty.

This paper provides a quantitative approach to assessing whether the subjective wellbeing (SWB) of Ecuadorian people is dependent on income and employment or on more distinctive features relating to Buen Vivir ethos. The latter are reflected in the indigenous Buen Vivir ideology, based mainly on relations with the community, the environment and food sovereignty. The empirical analysis shows that both Buen Vivir features and factors such as income and unemployment status are significant in the models explaining SWB. Accordingly, economic policies should take into account the Buen Vivir ethos, that seems to be important for the SWB of the Ecuadorian people. This supports the conservationist political position, which focuses on protecting the environment and people's traditional livelihoods, rather than the extractive view, which regards people's welfare as merely dependent on income.