Tolerance, social capital, and life satisfaction: a multilevel model from transition countries in the European Union

Tolerance of others on grounds race, ethnicity, nationality, religion and sexuality is an important component social capital but has received scant attention in the well-being literature. We examine components their relationship with life satisfaction using data from Life Transition Survey European Union transition countries. A principal factor analysis identifies three distinct independent components: tolerance, ties, trust. Using a multilevel modelling approach, we estimate relation between these satisfaction, whilst controlling for individual area effects. Tolerance, ties (networks) trust are positively associated satisfaction.