What can Economists Learn from Happiness Research?

No 80, IEW - Working Papers from Institute for Empirical Research in Economics - University of Zurich

Abstract: Over the past few years, there has been a steadily increasing interest on the part of economists in happiness research. We argue that reported subjective well-being is a satisfactory empirical approximation to individual utility and that happiness research is able to contribute important insights for economics. We report how the economic variables income, unemployment and inflation affect happiness as well as how institutional factors, in particular the type of democracy and the extent of government decentralization, systematically influence how satisfied individuals are with their life. We discuss some of the consequences for economic policy and for economic theory.

Keywords: economics; economic welfare; subjective well-being; utility (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: A10 D60 I31 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1593)

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Journal Article: What Can Economists Learn from Happiness Research? (2002)
Working Paper: What Can Economists Learn from Happiness Research? (2001)
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