This paper examines whether the Solow growth model is consistent with the international variation in the standard of living. It shows that an augmented Solow model that includes accumulation of human as well as physical capital provides an excellent description of the cross-country data. The paper also examines the implications of the Solow model for convergence in standards of living, that is, for whether poor countries tend to grow faster than rich countries. The evidence indicates that, holding population growth and capital accumulation constant, countries converge at about the rate the augmented Solow model predicts. This paper takes Robert Solow seriously. In his classic 1956 article Solow proposed that we begin the study of economic growth by assuming a standard neoclassical production function with decreasing returns to capital. Taking the rates of saving and population growth as exogenous, he showed that these two vari- ables determine the steady-state level of income per capita. Be- cause saving and population growth rates vary across countries, different countries reach different steady states. Solow's model gives simple testable predictions about how these variables influ- ence the steady-state level of income. The higher the rate of saving, the richer the country. The higher the rate of population growth, the poorer the country. This paper argues that the predictions of the Solow model are, to a first approximation, consistent with the evidence. Examining recently available data for a large set of countries, we find that saving and population growth affect income in the directions that Solow predicted. Moreover, more than half of the cross-country variation in income per capita can be explained by these two variables alone. Yet all is not right for the Solow model. Although the model correctly predicts the directions of the effects of saving and

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A Contribution to the Empirics of Economic Growth

The literature on subjective well-being (SWB), including happiness, life satisfaction, and positive affect, is reviewed in three areas: measurement, causal factors, and theory. Psychometric data on single-item and multi-item subjective well-being scales are presented, and the measures are compared. Measuring various components of subjective well-being is discussed. In terms of causal influences, research findings on the demographic correlates of SWB are evaluated, as well as the findings on other influences such as health, social contact, activity, and personality. A number of theoretical approaches to happiness are presented and discussed: telic theories, associationistic models, activity theories, judgment approaches, and top-down versus bottom-up conceptions.

Subjective Well-Being

W. Wilson's (1967) review of the area of subjective well-being (SWB) advanced several conclusions regarding those who report high levels of "happiness". A number of his conclusions have been overturned: youth and modest aspirations no longer are seen as prerequisites of SWB. E. Diener's (1984) review placed greater emphasis on theories that stressed psychological factors. In the current article, the authors review current evidence for Wilson's conclusions and discuss modern theories of SWB that stress dispositional influences, adaptation, goals, and coping strategies. The next steps in the evolution of the field are to comprehend the interaction of psychological factors with life circumstances in producing SWB, to understand the causal pathways leading to happiness, understand the processes underlying adaptation to events, and develop theories that explain why certain variables differentially influence the different components of SWV (life satisfaction, pleasant affect, and unpleasant affect).

Subjective Well-Being: Three Decades of Progress

W Wilson's (1967) review of the area of subjective well-being (SWB) advanced several conclusions regarding those who report high levels of "happiness" A number of his conclusions have been overturned: youth and modest aspirations no longer are seen as prerequisites of SWB E Diener's (1984) review placed greater emphasis on theories that stressed psychological factors In the current article, the authors review current evidence for Wilson's conclusions and discuss modern theories of SWB that stress dispositional influences, adaptation, goals, and coping strategies The next steps in the evolution of the field are to comprehend the interaction of psychological factors with life circumstances in producing SWB, to understand the causal pathways leading to happiness, understand the processes underlying adaptation to events, and develop theories that explain why certain variables differentially influence the different components of SWB (life satisfaction, pleasant affect, and unpleasant affect) In 1967, Warner Wilson presented a broad review of subjective well-being (SWB) research entitled, "Correlates of Avowed Happiness" Based on the limited data available at that time, Wilson concluded that the happy person is a "young, healthy, welleducated, well-paid, extroverted, optimistic, worry-free, religious, married person with high self-esteem, job morale, modest aspirations, of either sex and of a wide range of intelligence" (p 294) In the three decades since Wilson's review, investigations into SWB have evolved Although researchers now know a great deal more about the correlates of SWB, they are less interested in simply describing the demographic characteristics that correlate with it Instead, they focus their effort on understanding the processes that underlie happiness This trend represents a greater recognition of the central role played by people's goals, coping efforts, and dispositions In this article, we review research on several major theoretical approaches to well-being and then indicate how these theories clarify the findings on demographic correlates of SWB Throughout the review we suggest four directions that researchers should pursue in the decades ahead These are by no means the only questions left to answer, but we believe they are the most interesting issues left to resolve First, the causal direction of the correlates of happiness must be examined through more sophisticated methodologies Although the causal priority of demographic factors such as marriage and income is intuitively appealing, it is by no means certain Second, researchers must focus greater attention on the interaction between internal factors (such as personality traits) and external circumstances As we shall see, demographic factors have surprisingly small effects on SWB, but these effects may depend on the personalities of those individuals being studied Thus, future research must take Person X Situation interactions into account Third, researchers must strive to understand the processes underlying adaptation Considerable adaptation to both good and bad circumstances often occurs, yet the processes responsible for these effects are poorly understood Research that examines how habituation, coping strategies, and changing goals influence adaptation will shed much light on the processes responsible for SWB Finally, theories must be refined to make specific predictions about how input variables differentially influence the components of SWB In the past, many researchers have treated SWB as a monolithic entity, but it is now clear that there are separable components that exhibit unique patterns of relations with different variables In each section of this article we discuss progress and opportunities in these four areas

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Subjective well-being: Three decades of progress

https://ink.library.smu.edu.sg/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=2651&context=soss_research

Subjective Well-being

According to the widely-held theory of the demographic transition, increasing urbanization, education, and industrialization induce declining mortality and, with a lag, declining fertility. But is this generalization supported by the evidence? Empirical studies at Princeton's Office of Population Research (OPR) in the early 1960s raised doubts. A doctoral dissertation by William Leasure showed that the decline of fertility in Spain was not readily explained by this simple version of the demographic transition. Another study by John Knodel and Nathanial Iskandar found only a slight difference in the timing of the marital fertility decline in England and Hungary, despite very different levels of education, mortality, and industrialization. A similarly puzzling parallel in marital fertility decline occurred in Norway and Romania. These seeming contradictions led Ansley Coale in 1963 to initiate one of the most ambitious social science research inquiries ever undertaken, the European Fertility Project (EFP). The purpose of this project was to mine the extensive high quality historical demographic statistics of the countries of Europe to investigate fertility change by province from the predecline period through 1960. In the course of this project, Coale enlisted the collaboration of a number of demographers now of national and international reknown. Seven country studies have so far been published-in order of appearance, Portugal, by Massimo Livi-Bacci; Germany, by John Knodel; France, by Etienne van de Walle; Belgium, by Ron J. Lesthaeghe; Italy, also by Livi-Bacci; Russia, by Coale, Barbara A. Anderson, and Erna Harm; and Great Britain, by Michael S. Teitelbaum. In addition, the present volume's references list numerous articles and several dissertations resulting from the project, a number of them reporting on other areas of Europe than those covered in the monographs. The present volume is the result of a conference held in 1979. The aim, commendably, was not to summarize the country studies, but to attempt to develop generalizations, both descriptive and causal, drawing on data from all of the countries studied. The authors of the volume include either persons who were responsible for the country studies or significant others closely associated with EFP. Some outsiders partici-

Toward the cumulation of demographic knowledge

https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/S0022050700010639

Education and Economic Development Since the Industrial Revolution . Edited by Gabriel Tortella. Valencia, Spain: Generalitat Valenciana, 1990. Pp. x, 353.

China’s well-being since 1990

This essay formally presents the 1976 Pennsylvania school economic model of fertility behavior. It is suggested as an alternative to the "Chicago-Columbia" approach that dominates the current work on fertility economics. The major thesis of the Pennsylvania model is that in order to understand the variety of real world fertility behavior models of fertility determination must be expanded to include: 1) determinants of family preferences for consumption children and fertility regulation and 2) factors related to the fecundity or reproductive capacity of women. A framework is proposed which emphasizes the role of interdependent preferences and it is considered necessary to distinguish between those who deliberately regulate their fertility and those who do not when estimating how income changes or birth control education programs will affect fertility decisions. Data is interpreted from lesser developed countries which indicates that often observed fertility is not a product of deliberate choice. For such countries time-series and cross-sectional fertility variations may reflect natural fertility determinants rather than desired family size. The authors claim that their framework more viably explains such problems as the postwar American baby boom and the variability of fertility in developing countries.

Toward a More General Economic Model of Fertility Determination: Endogenous Preferences and Natural Fertility

If society's goal is to increase people's feelings of well-being, economic growth in itself will not do the job. Full employment and a generous and comprehensive social safety net do increase happiness. Such policies are arguably affordable not only in higher income nations but also in countries that account for most of the population of the less-developed world. These conclusions are suggested by an analysis of a wide range of evidence on happiness in countries throughout the world.

Richard A. Easterlin

Papers

Toward the cumulation of demographic knowledge

Education and Economic Development Since the Industrial Revolution . Edited by Gabriel Tortella. Valencia, Spain: Generalitat Valenciana, 1990. Pp. x, 353.

China’s well-being since 1990

Toward a More General Economic Model of Fertility Determination: Endogenous Preferences and Natural Fertility

Happiness, Growth, and Public Policy