How do cultural activities influence happiness? Investigating the relationship between self-reported well-being and leisure

Leisure is a human condition related to the discretionary use of time in a rewarding way that contributes to individual well-being. Individuals decide to engage on cultural activities to enjoy pleasant experiences. Cultural participation can be explained in different dimension, considering how the individual access those cultural experiences: by live attendance, by home consumption, by community practice. We find that the magnitude of the positive effect of cultural activities on the top happiness goes in this descending order: cinema going, participat- ing in cultural events,listening to music,reading books and watching TV.