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The paradox of declining female happiness

Author

Listed:
  • Betsey Stevenson
  • Justin Wolfers
Abstract
By many objective measures the lives of women in the United States have improved over the past 35 years, yet we show that measures of subjective well-being indicate that women?s happiness has declined both absolutely and relative to men. The paradox of women?s declining relative well-being is found across various datasets, measures of subjective well-being, and is pervasive across demographic groups and industrialized countries. Relative declines in female happiness have eroded a gender gap in happiness in which women in the 1970s typically reported higher subjective well-being than did men. These declines have continued and a new gender gap is emerging?one with higher subjective well-being for men.

Suggested Citation

  • Betsey Stevenson & Justin Wolfers, 2009. "The paradox of declining female happiness," Working Paper Series 2009-11, Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco.
    • Handle: RePEc:fip:fedfwp:2009-11
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Well-being;

    JEL classification:

    • D6 - Microeconomics - - Welfare Economics
    • I32 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Welfare, Well-Being, and Poverty - - - Measurement and Analysis of Poverty
    • J1 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics
    • J7 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Labor Discrimination
    • K1 - Law and Economics - - Basic Areas of Law

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