SDG progress and well-being across the EU. Are we happier yet?

Drawing from the economics of happiness literature, this study investigates how a set of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) indicators impact the Happiness Score in European Union countries. This paper supports the view that well-being should be explained beyond GDP and contributes to the literature by using SDG indicators to capture the economic, social, and environmental drivers of well-being, identify mismatches with established happiness determinants, and offer policy insights to guide SDG implementation toward a happiness-oriented economy. The analysis uses the Ladder Score from the World Happiness Report as the dependent variable, and a comprehensive set of SDG indicators from the European Commission as explanatory variables. Both conventional fixed-effects and quantile fixed-effects panel regressions are used to assess average and distributional effects of SDG progress on well-being, thereby offering a more nuanced understanding of the interplay between development outcomes and subjective well-being. Findings indicate that SDGs within the social dimension, specifically poverty (SDG1), hunger (SDG2) and partnerships (SDG17), are significantly associated with higher average happiness. Health (SDG3) and inequality (SDG10) are linked to improvements throughout the entire distribution of well-being, not just its mean. Within the economic pillar, employment (SDG8) and access to energy (SDG7) stand out as primary drivers of well-being, especially for those with lower and middle happiness levels, highlighting the importance of addressing energy poverty. Environmental results indicate that climate change-related losses (SDG13) reduce happiness, particularly at the upper end of the happiness distribution, suggesting that climate-related risks may disproportionately affect the well-being of individuals who are already more satisfied. Institutional and demographic factors are also influential. Higher male-to-female ratios are associated with lower happiness, whereas stronger governance and eurozone membership enhance well-being. These findings emphasise the importance of considering a wide range of development indicators when assessing well-being, rather than focusing only on GDP.