Monica Guillen-Royo

• Guillen-Royo, Monica (2018). Television, Sustainability and Subjective Wellbeing in Peru. Social Indicators Research.  ISSN 0303-8300.  s 1- 23 . doi: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11205-018-1853-z Show summary

  Earlier studies have concluded that television consumption is detrimental to environmental sustainability and people’s subjective wellbeing due to its promotion of consumerism and materialistic goals. However, recent evidence indicates that, in contexts of relative deprivation, television can be a source of wellbeing, a main provider of entertainment and information. This might present a conflict between the wellbeing of present and future generations, and might pose a challenge for sustainable development. This article contributes to the emergent debate on the role of television in sustainable development, by presenting a study of the effects of television viewing in a heterogeneous Peruvian sample (n = 500). Regression analysis results indicate that television consumption is negatively associated with sustainable attitudes, partially through the promotion of goals linked to materialism. The relationship between television consumption and happiness is not significant but becomes marginally positive when materialistic goals are accounted for. This study finds that in countries like Peru, television need not limit the wellbeing of present and future generations if materialistic messages are reduced and the content of environmental programmes is critically revised

• Viñas Bardolet, Clara; Torrent Sallent, Joan & Guillen-Royo, Monica (2018). Knowledge Workers and Job Satisfaction: Evidence from Europe. Journal of the Knowledge Economy.  ISSN 1868-7865.  s 1- 25 . doi: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13132-018-0541-1 Show summary

  This article analyzes the determinants of job satisfaction among knowledge workers (KWs). Data from a representative sample of 14,096 employed workers from the European Social Survey (2010) are used for an empirical analysis drawing on multiple binary logistic regression models. Job satisfaction among KWs in 21 EU countries is found to be explained better by non-financial characteristics than by monetary rewards. Career advancement opportunities, flexible work schedules, colleague support, and work–family relations, as well as job security, emerge as central in explaining job satisfaction among KWs in our sample. Unlike the case for other workers (OWs), opportunities for further training and career experience are not determinants of job satisfaction among KWs. Management divisions in companies employing KWs would be well-advised to take these points into account.

• Guillen-Royo, Monica; Guardiola, Jorge & Garcia-Quero, Fernando (2017). Sustainable development in times of economic crisis: A needs-based illustration from Granada (Spain). Journal of Cleaner Production.  ISSN 0959-6526.  150, s 267- 276 . doi: 10.1016/j.jclepro.2017.03.008 Full text in Research Archive. Show summary

  This paper illustrates the importance of a balanced approach to sustainable development through the analysis of needs-based workshops in Granada, a Spanish city hit hard by the recent economic crisis. The workshops followed Max-Neef's Human Scale Development proposal that highlights the interdependence of social, economic and environmental systems and stresses the centrality of participatory processes and human needs satisfaction. This understanding of human development aligns with the approach to sustainable development popularised by the World Commission on Environment and Development in 1987, which called for the satisfaction of the needs of both current and future generations together with a balanced articulation of the social, economic and environmental dimensions of development. In practice, and even more so in times of economic crisis, governments are seen to prioritise the economic dimension over the environmental and the societal dimensions through their primary focus on policies to foster economic growth. However, people experiencing unemployment and poor economic prospects may not be in favour of this unbalanced, economic-driven approach. In Granada, participants in needs-based workshops did not emphasise the importance of economic prosperity and job creation when discussing policy goals and interventions to improve needs satisfaction. Economic interventions, such as providing universal coverage of basic needs, were seen as interdependent with personal and institutional transformations aimed at empowering workers and promoting citizen participation, and with environmental initiatives concerning the conservation of local natural spaces and the spread of urban gardening.

• Westengen, Ola; Nyanga, Progress Hanzwida; Chibamba, Douty; Guillen-Royo, Monica & Banik, Dan (2017). A climate for commerce: the political agronomy of conservation agriculture in Zambia. Agriculture and Human Values.  ISSN 0889-048X.  35(1), s 255- 268 . doi: 10.1007/s10460-017-9820-x Full text in Research Archive.
• Guillen-Royo, Monica (2015). Human needs and the environment reconciled: Participatory action-research for sustainable development in Peru, In Karen V Lykke Syse & Martin Lee Mueller (ed.),  Sustainable Consumption and the Good Life.  Routledge.  ISBN 978-1138013001.  8.  s 126 - 145
• Guardiola, Jorge & Guillen-Royo, Monica (2014). Income, Unemployment, Higher Education and Wellbeing in Times of Economic Crisis: Evidence from Granada (Spain). Social Indicators Research.  ISSN 0303-8300.  120(2), s 395- 409 . doi: 10.1007/s11205-014-0598-6 Show summary

  Volume 120, Issue 2, pp 395-409

• Guillen-Royo, Monica & Kasser, Tim (2014). Personal Goals, Socio-Economic Context and Happiness: Studying a Diverse Sample in Peru. Journal of Happiness Studies.  ISSN 1389-4978.  s 1- 21 . doi: 10.1007/s10902-014-9515-6 Show summary

  Past research demonstrates that happiness is higher to the extent people prioritize intrinsic goals (for self-acceptance, affiliation, and community feeling) over extrinsic goals (for financial success, popularity, and image). Because most of the research on personal goals and wellbeing has been conducted in economically-developed nations, we collected data from a sample of 500 Peruvians living in five districts illustrating the socio-economic and geo-political diversity of the country. Participants living further away from the rich district of Lima placed greater importance on extrinsic and less importance on intrinsic goals. Further, happiness was generally higher when people focused on intrinsic goals than when they prioritized extrinsic goals. Interestingly, in a slum of Lima, a focus on intrinsic goals was negatively associated with well-being. This finding is in line with past studies showing that pursuing intrinsic goals in situations that frustrate their attainment is associated with lower well-being.

• Guillen-Royo, Monica; Camfield, Laura & Velazco, Jackeline (2013). Universal and Local Reconciled: Exploring Satisfaction with Universal and Local Goals in Thailand and Bangladesh. Social Indicators Research.  ISSN 0303-8300.  113(2), s 627- 645 . doi: 10.1007/s11205-013-0293-z
• Guillen-Royo, Monica; Velazco, Jackeline & Camfield, Laura (2013). Basic Needs and Wealth as Independent Determinants of Happiness: An Illustration from Thailand. Social Indicators Research.  ISSN 0303-8300.  110(2), s 517- 536 . doi: 10.1007/s11205-011-9941-3
• Guillen-Royo, Monica (2012). The Challenge of Transforming Consumption Patterns: A Proposal Using the Human Scale Development Approach, In Kenneth Bo Nielsen & Kristian Bjørkdahl (ed.),  Development and Environment: Practices, Theories, Policies.  Akademisk Forlag.  ISBN 9788232100330.  6.  s 99 - 118
• Guillen-Royo, Monica & Velazco, Jackeline (2012). Happy villages and Unhappy slums? Understanding Happiness determinants in Peru, In Helaine Selin & SG Davey (ed.),  Happiness across cultures.  Springer.  ISBN 978-94-007-2699-4.  chapter.  s 253 - 270
• Guillen-Royo, Monica (2011). Reference group consumption and the subjective wellbeing of the poor in Peru. Journal of Economic Psychology.  ISSN 0167-4870.  32(2), s 259- 272 . doi: 10.1016/j.joep.2009.12.001
• Guillen-Royo, Monica & Velazco, Jackeline (2011). Happy villages and unhappy slums? Understanding happiness in urban and rural Peru. Wellbeing working paper.  (11/52) Show summary

  Generally, people living in rural areas declare they are happier than people living in cities. This is particularly significant in Peru, a country with great levels of inequality and traditionally low levels of reported happiness. This chapter investigates differences in levels of reported happiness between urban and rural Peruvians using regression analysis to test two hypotheses. The first concerns the possibility that urban dwellers are unhappier because of their higher emphasis on social comparison. The second one is related to the different understandings people have about the meaning of happiness. It argues that people living in cities who do not internalise concepts of happiness linked to extrinsic or materialist values will be less happy than those who adapt to a materialist environment. Using data from seven communities in Peru, the study finds that the two hypotheses partially explain the differences in happiness between rural and urban Peruvians. Further research using country-representative data is needed to confirm these findings.

• Guillen-Royo, Monica; Velazco, Jackeline & Camfield, Laura (2011). Basic Needs and Wealth as Independent Determinants of Happiness: An Illustration from Thailand. Social Indicators Research.  ISSN 0303-8300. . doi: 10.1007/s11205-011-9941-3
• Camfield, Laura & Guillen-Royo, Monica (2010). Wants, Needs and Satisfaction: A Comparative Study in Thailand and Bangladesh. Social Indicators Research.  ISSN 0303-8300.  96(2), s 183- 203 . doi: 10.1007/s11205-009-9477-y
• Camfield, Laura; Guillen-Royo, Monica & Velazco, Jackeline (2010). Does Needs Satisfaction Matter for Psychological and Subjective Wellbeing in Developing Countries: A Mixed-Methods Illustration from Bangladesh and Thailand. Journal of Happiness Studies.  ISSN 1389-4978.  11(4), s 497- 516 . doi: 10.1007/s10902-009-9154-5
• Guillen-Royo, Monica (2010). Realising the 'wellbeing dividend' An exploratory study using the Human Scale Development approach. Ecological Economics.  ISSN 0921-8009.  70(2), s 384- 393 . doi: 10.1016/j.ecolecon.2010.09.010 Show summary

  Abstract: Despite claims about the existence of the 'wellbeing dividend', that sustainable and reduced consumption are compatible with increased wellbeing, there is little evidence that this dividend is being realised. The present research illustrates how through workshops addressing the cultural, economic, political and personal factors that impede or promote human needs satisfaction, a given society can unravel its own pathway towards sustainability and wellbeing. This study draws on the wellbeing literature, particularly Max-Neef's approach to human needs and satisfiers. It uses an analysis of group discussions in Lleida, a medium-sized Catalonian city, to show how unsustainable consumption is associated with local hurdles for actualising needs and how sustainable consumption is linked to local descriptions of the utopian, needs-actualising society. The manner of progressing towards needs actualisation and sustainability is also addressed by participants who identify the changes in norms, institutions and personal identity that need to be in place. The analysis reveals the interrelatedness of satisfiers and argues for a systemic perspective to address social transition towards sustainability and wellbeing.

• Guillen-Royo, Monica (2010). Reference group consumption and the subjective wellbeing of the poor in Peru. Journal of Economic Psychology.  ISSN 0167-4870. . doi: 10.1016/j.joep.2009.12.001 Show summary

  This paper studies the relationship between the consumption of the reference group and people’s subjective wellbeing in seven poor Peruvian communities. It presents an empirical analysis of the importance of relative consumption for people’s feelings of adequacy in five consumption domains (food, housing, education, clothes and health care). Against the assumption that relative consumption only matters for the rich and drawing on recent empirical work in Latin America, the study hypothesises that participants are likely to be influenced by the level of consumption of the area where they live when evaluating their situation. The data come from two surveys implemented in 2004 and 2005 in Peru by the Wellbeing in Developing Countries (WeD), ESRC research group at the University of Bath. The results indicate a negative effect of relative consumption on participants’ appraisal of their households’ clothes, housing and children’s education. However, the study also shows that in domains linked to the need for physical health such as health care and food, appraisals are made based on households’ objective situations and that the average consumption in the community does not play a significant role.

• Camfield, Laura & Guillen-Royo, Monica (2009). Wants, needs, satisfactions. Social Indicators Research.  ISSN 0303-8300. Show summary

  Within international development greater income is assumed to lead to greater need fulfilment, which increases subjective wellbeing. The Wellbeing in Developing Countries ESRC Research Group’s dataset provides an opportunity to test these relationships using measures of income, expenditure, perceived and ‘objective’ need satisfaction and subjective wellbeing collected in Bangladesh and Thailand. The paper demonstrates that firstly, location and socio-economic status are related to both what people say they need, and the extent to which they feel they have satisfied these needs; secondly, there is a close correlation between objective and subjective need satisfaction, indicating that people’s perceptions of need satisfaction are accurate; and thirdly, there is a significant positive relationship between expenditure on basic need fulfilment and subjective and objective need satisfaction.

• Copestake, James; Guillen-Royo, Monica; Chou, Wan; Hinks, Tim & Velazco, Jackeline (2009). The Relationship between economic and subjective wellbeing indicators in Peru. Applied Research in Quality of Life.  ISSN 1871-2584.  2(2), s 155- 177 Show summary

  Previous studies in Peru have identified apparent mismatches between people’s perceptions of their wellbeing and indicators of their material welfare. This paper draws on primary data from relatively poor localities in Central Peru to investigate these further. We first present estimates of respondents’ household income, expenditure and poverty status. This data is then compared with individual responses to a standard happiness question. We find people are generally happier in rural areas even though poverty in incidence there is greater. Additional data on different distinct aspects of subjective wellbeing is then used to explain the apparent paradox. We find rural respondents are more satisfied with the place where they live and progress in raising a family, while those in urban areas have higher material and related aspirations which they find hard to fulfil.

• Camfield, Laura; Guillen-Royo, Monica & Velazco, Jackeline (2009). Does need satisfaction matter for psychological and subjective wellbeing in developing countries? A mixed-methods illustration from Bangladesh and Thailand. Journal of Happiness Studies.  ISSN 1389-4978.  11(4), s 497- 516 . doi: 10.1007/s10902-009-9154-5 Show summary

  The paper uses qualitative and quantitative data collected by the Wellbeing in Developing Countries ESRC research group in Bangladesh and Thailand to explore the extent to which objective need deprivation predicts subjective and psychological wellbeing, controlling for location, socio-economic status, and gender. The regression analysis is triangulated with qualitative analysis of three illustrative case studies to explore why people experiencing great need deprivation nevertheless report high subjective and psychological wellbeing and propose factors that might support their resilience. The paper reports perhaps unsurprisingly that need deprivation was lower in Thailand than Bangladesh, and subjective and psychological wellbeing higher, with the exception of life satisfaction which was higher in Bangladesh. While goal attainment was significantly associated with affect and life satisfaction in both countries, in Thailand life satisfaction and goal attainment were negatively correlated (−.334), so the more goals respondents felt they had attained, the less satisfied they were. These apparent anomalies are explored further using data from the case studies. The findings confirm that although measures of subjective and psychological wellbeing are correlated, they are not substitutable. For example, subjective wellbeing, especially positive affect, is more influenced by need deprivation than psychological wellbeing, while psychological wellbeing is more influenced by demographic factors, especially in Thailand. Finally, the paper discusses whether the distinct relationships of subjective and psychological wellbeing with need deprivation and income have any implications for policymakers.

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• Guillen-Royo, Monica (2016). Sustainability and wellbeing: Human Scale Development in practice. Routledge.  ISBN 9781138792395.  187 s.

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• Guillen-Royo, Monica (2018). Book Review of Postgrowth and Wellbeing by Milena Büchs and Max Koch, Palgrave Macmillan (London), 2017. Ecological Economics.  ISSN 0921-8009.  146, s 781- 782
• Guillen-Royo, Monica (2018). Sustainable consumption and wellbeing. Does on-line shopping matter?.
• Guillen-Royo, Monica (2018). Sustainable consumption as syergic needs satisfier: the case of ICTs in Oslo.
• Guillen-Royo, Monica (red.) (2018). Television, sostenibilidad y bienestar subjectivo.
• Temesgen, Amsale Kassahun; Guillen-Royo, Monica & Vangelsten, Bjørn Vidar (2018). Citizen participation for sustainability and quality of life in Vågan municipality.
• Guillen-Royo, Monica (2017). Television, happiness and sustainability in Peru.
• Guillen-Royo, Monica (2017). Wellbeing and sustainable communities.
• Guillen-Royo, Monica (2015). Discussing human needs satisfaction across socio-economic contexts (Norway, Spain and Peru).
• Guillen-Royo, Monica (2014). Consumption, In Alex C. Michalos (ed.),  Encyclopedia of Quality of Life and Well-Being Research.  Springer.  ISBN 978-94-007-0752-8.  Encyclopedia entry.  s 1240 - 1243
• Guillen-Royo, Monica (2014). Consumption and Subjective Well-Being in Peru, In Alex C. Michalos (ed.),  Encyclopedia of Quality of Life and Well-Being Research.  Springer.  ISBN 978-94-007-0752-8.  Encyclopedia entry.  s 1243 - 1248
• Guillen-Royo, Monica (2014). Economic Growth, consumption and human wellbeing: discussing the evidence.
• Guillen-Royo, Monica (2014). Economic growth and human needs satisfaction across socio-economic groups in Peru.
• Guillen-Royo, Monica (2014). Human Needs, In Alex C. Michalos (ed.),  Encyclopedia of Quality of Life and Well-Being Research.  Springer.  ISBN 978-94-007-0752-8.  Encyclopedia entry.  s 3027 - 3030
• Guillen-Royo, Monica (2014). Why do we keep consuming more? Sustainability, capitalism and everyday life.
• Guillen-Royo, Monica (2013). Aplicaciones académicas del Desarrollo a Escala Humana.
• Guillen-Royo, Monica (2013, 01. november). Mindre lykkelige i storbyen. [Fagblad].  Apollon.
• Guillen-Royo, Monica (2012). A review of ‘Sustainable Development: Capabilities, Needs and Well-being’ by Felix Rauschmayer, Ines Omann and Johannes Frühmann (Eds). Applied Research in Quality of Life.  ISSN 1871-2584.  7(1), s 113- 115 . doi: 10.1007/s11482-011-9146-6
• Guillen-Royo, Monica (2012). Discussing the practices of researchers. Participatory action research for wellbeing and sustainability in Peru.
• Guillen-Royo, Monica (2012). Sustainability and wellbeing across socio-economic groups in Peru.
• Guillen-Royo, Monica (2012, 24. september). Ønsker vs. behov. [Radio].  Radio Nova. Show summary

  Hva er egentlig materialisme? Og hvor går grensa mellom det å dekke behov og å ville oppfylle ønsker? Sorgenfri ville komme til bunns i dette, og derfor snakket vi med forskeren Monica Guillen-Royo. Monica har forsket på materialisme, og vi ba henne definere begrepet for oss: «Jeg følger den amerikanske psykologen Tim Kassers definisjon. Han beskriver materialisme som et fokus på å samle ting, på å ha mer av alt. Når vi forstår suksess som å ha eller å skaffe seg materielle ting blir vi materialistiske. Jo mer materialistiske vi er, desto mindre betyr andre verdier som tilhørighet eller selv-aksept.» Monica har sett på materialisme-begrepet som en ekstrinsisk verdi. Det vil si at materialismen er avhengig av eksterne premier og ros, og at den ikke er iboende i oss. Hun sier at vi alle er materialistiske; spørsmålet er i hvilken grad vi lar materialistiske verdier dominere vår hverdag. Hun har studert sammenhengen mellom ekstrinsiske verdier, lykke og bærekraftige holdninger i Peru, og det hun fant ut var at det å ha høye ekstrinsiske verdier ikke øker lykke, og at det også reduserer bærekraftige holdninger. Hvor går grensa mellom det å dekke grunnleggende behov og det å ville oppfylle ønsker? «Dette kommer helt an på hvilken teori man følger-»,forteller Monica, «for eksempel skrev professoren Ian Gough at ønsker ikke er universelle, de varierer fra person til person, og kommer fra det kulturelle miljøet vi oppholder oss i, i tillegg til egne preferanser. Begrepet ” I want a cigarette, but I need to stop smoking ” oppsummerer dette.» Hvem er de mest materialistiske i verden? Monica har kommet fram til at fattige ofte har opplevd situasjoner preget av økonomisk og emosjonell utrygghet, noe som gjør dem mer opptatt av materielle ting, og derfor ses de på som mer materialistiske enn rikere mennesker. «I Peru fant jeg ut at selv om de fattige er mer materialistiske, så er de desto mer vant til å arbeide for et fellesskap enn hva de rike er-» kan hun fortelle, «Når de fattige begynner å samarbeide for å forbedre tilstandene sin, så er individuelle verdier verken en hindring for lykke eller bærekraftighet.»

• Guillen-Royo, Monica & Kasser, Tim (2012). Subjective wellbeing and sustainability in Peru: The roles of income, inequality and personal goals.
• Guillen-Royo, Monica (2009, 23. mai). Consumo y bienestar. [TV].  La Mañana televisió.
• Guillen-Royo, Monica (2009, 22. juni). La prisa perjudica el consumo sostenible y en Lleida hay mucha.  La Mañana.
• Guillen-Royo, Monica (2009). Reference group consumption and the subjective wellbeing of the poor in Peru.
• Guillen-Royo, Monica (2009). Wellbeing and development.

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