Ethnicity and Subjective Well-being in the Republic of North Macedonia
TL;DR: This paper examined the nature of inter-ethnic relations in North Macedonia drawing on the 2008 European Quality of Life Survey (EQL) and found that the self-declared level of subjective well-being is Ceteris paribus.
Abstract: This paper examines the nature of inter-ethnic relations in North Macedonia drawing on the 2008 European Quality of Life Survey. Ceteris paribus, the self-declared level of subjective well-being is...
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TL;DR: In this article, the authors review the evidence on relative income from the subjective well-being literature and discuss the relation (or not) between happiness and utility, and discuss some nonhappiness research (behavioral, experimental, neurological) related to income comparisons.
Abstract: The well-known Easterlin paradox points out that average happiness has remained constant over time despite sharp rises in GNP per head. At the same time, a micro literature has typically found positive correlations between individual income and individual measures of subjective well-being. This paper suggests that these two findings are consistent with the presence of relative income terms in the utility function. Income may be evaluated relative to others (social comparison) or to oneself in the past (habituation). We review the evidence on relative income from the subjective well-being literature. We also discuss the relation (or not) between happiness and utility, and discuss some nonhappiness research (behavioral, experimental, neurological) related to income comparisons. We last consider how relative income in the utility function can affect economic models of behavior in the domains of consumption, investment, economic growth, savings, taxation, labor supply, wages, and migration.
2,239 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors review the evidence on relative income from the subjective well-being literature and discuss the relation (or not) between happiness and utility, and discuss some nonhappiness research (behavioral, experimental, neurological) related to income comparisons.
Abstract: The well-known Easterlin paradox points out that average happiness has remained constant over time despite sharp rises in GNP per head. At the same time, a micro literature has typically found positive correlations between individual income and individual measures of subjective well-being. This paper suggests that these two findings are consistent with the presence of relative income terms in the utility function. Income may be evaluated relative to others (social comparison) or to oneself in the past (habituation). We review the evidence on relative income from the subjective well-being literature. We also discuss the relation (or not) between happiness and utility, and discuss some nonhappiness research (behavioral, experimental, neurological) related to income comparisons. We last consider how relative income in the utility function can affect economic models of behavior in the domains of consumption, investment, economic growth, savings, taxation, labor supply, wages, and migration.
2,179 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors examined whether the relationship between income and subjective well-being is relative (Easterlin, 1974) or absolute (Veenhoven, 1988, 1991).
Abstract: Although it appears that income and subjective well-being correlate in within-country studies (Diener, 1984), a debate has focused on whether this relationship is relative (Easterlin, 1974) or absolute (Veenhoven, 1988, 1991). The absolute argument advanced by Veenhoven states that income helps individuals meet certain universal needs and therefore that income, at least at lower levels, is a cause of subjective well-being. The relativity argument is based on the idea that the impact of income or other resources depends on changeable standards such as those derived from expectancies, habituation levels, and social comparisons. Two studies which empirically examine these positions are presented: one based on 18 032 college studies in 39 countries, and one based on 10 year longitudinal data in a probability sample of 4 942 American adults. Modest but significant correlations were found in the U.S. between income and well-being, but the cross-country correlations were larger. No evidence for the influence of relative standards on income was found: (1) Incomechange did not produce effects beyond the effect of income level per se, (2) African-Americans and the poorly educated did not derive greater happiness from specific levels of income, (3) Income produced the same levels of happiness in poorer and richer areas of the U.S., and (4) Affluence correlated with subjective well-being both across countries and within the U.S. Income appeared to produce lesser increases in subjective well-being at higher income levels in the U.S., but this pattern was not evident across countries. Conceptual and empirical questions about the universal needs position are noted. Suggestions for further explorations of the relativistic position are offered.
1,060 citations
"Ethnicity and Subjective Well-being..." refers background in this paper
...…income relative to the income of the reference group significantly increases a person’s SWB, after controlling for absolute income and other factors correlated with SWB (Ball and Chernova 2008; Clark, Frijters, and Shields 2008; Diener et al. 1993; Knight, Song, and Gunatilaka 2009; McBride 2001)....
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Posted Content•
TL;DR: The report, published by the Earth Institute and co-edited by the institute's director, Jeffrey Sachs, reflects a new worldwide demand for more attention to happiness and absence of misery as criteria for government policy.
Abstract: The report, published by the Earth Institute and co-edited by the institute’s director, Jeffrey Sachs, reflects a new worldwide demand for more attention to happiness and absence of misery as criteria for government policy. It reviews the state of happiness in the world today and shows how the new science of happiness explains personal and national variations in happiness.
911 citations
TL;DR: The authors found micro-level evidence in support of the hypothesis that relative-income does matter in individual assessments of subjective well-being, and used cross-section estimates to replicate the aggregate time-series.
Abstract: Recent work suggests that a person’s subjective well-being (SWB) depends to a large degree on relative-income. Focusing on the underlying identification, this paper makes four contributions to this literature: it describes the aggregation problem with past studies, implements an estimation strategy to overcome this problem, finds micro-level evidence in support of the hypothesis that relative-income does matter in individual assessments of SWB, and uses cross-section estimates to replicate the aggregate time-series. The evidence further indicates that relative-income effects may be smaller at low income levels. The results are obtained from ordered probit techniques and the general social survey (GSS).
788 citations
"Ethnicity and Subjective Well-being..." refers background in this paper
...…income relative to the income of the reference group significantly increases a person’s SWB, after controlling for absolute income and other factors correlated with SWB (Ball and Chernova 2008; Clark, Frijters, and Shields 2008; Diener et al. 1993; Knight, Song, and Gunatilaka 2009; McBride 2001)....
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...Many individual-level studies confirm that an increase in own income relative to the income of the reference group significantly increases a person’s SWB, after controlling for absolute income and other factors correlated with SWB (Ball and Chernova 2008; Clark, Frijters, and Shields 2008; Diener et al. 1993; Knight, Song, and Gunatilaka 2009; McBride 2001)....
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