The Effect of Drug Abuse on the Happiness Level of Dutch

This paper examines the relationship between drug intake and the regularity of happiness among Dutch residents, contributing to current scientific findings. The cross-sectional data on 5723 Dutch residents was obtained from the LISS panel, provided by CentERdata and Tilburg University in 2020. The results showed that substances consumption significantly negatively influences the regularity of Dutch happiness. Moreover, the happiness frequency among Dutch residents increases with self-owned dwelling and alcohol consumption and worsens with urban area of living. Besides, Dutch males tend to be more often happy than Dutch females, while the regularity of happiness in the Netherlands was determined to be independent from different age groups. This research extends existing academic papers on the issue of drug intake and happiness regularity in several aspects. First, it uses the regularity of happiness as a dependent variable instead of a common happiness scale. Secondly, the analysis provides the consistency of the model and is based on different methods of estimation, including modern Lewbel’s IV approach, which helps to overcome potential endogeneity. Finally, the paper reveals the causal relationship between substance use and the frequency of Dutch happiness, providing a reliable basis for changes in the national drug policy with the aim of improving social welfare.