Why do some Latin American countries flourish despite material constraints? Insights from the Global Flourishing Study
The Latin American region faces ongoing challenges related to disease burden, healthcare inequalities, and constraints on quality of life.1 Despite these structural barriers, countries in this region often score higher on subjective indicators of well-being (e.g., life evaluation) than those in more socioeconomically developed regions (e.g., Greece, Japan, Portugal).2 This pattern has been described as the well-being paradox in Latin America, whereby subjective experiences of well-being can transcend financial and material constraints.
Authors
- Tyler J. VanderWeele (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6112-0239)
- Homero Vallada (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5123-8295)
- R. Noah Padgett (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9114-3896)
- Juliane Piasseschi de Bernardin Gonçalves (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8206-2066)
- Richard Gregory Cowden (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9027-4253)
- Giancarlo Lucchetti (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5384-9476)
Institutions
- Universidade Federal de Juiz de Fora (BR)
- Harvard University (US)
- Universidade de São Paulo (BR)
Publication Details
- Journal
- The Lancet Regional Health - Americas
- Published
- 2026-10-14
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1016/j.lana.2026.101665
- Primary Topic
- Psychological Well-being and Life Satisfaction
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.00
Funders
- John Templeton Foundation
- Fetzer Institute
- Paul M. Angell Family Foundation
- Templeton World Charity Foundation
- Templeton Religion Trust