Blanchflower, David G. and Oswald, Andrew J. . (2002) Well-being over time in Britain and the USA. Journal of Public Economics, Vol.88 (No.7-8). pp. 1359-1386. ISSN 0047-2727

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Abstract

This paper studies happiness in the United States and Great Britain. Reported levels of well-being have declined over the last quarter of a century in the US; life satisfaction has run approximately flat through time in Britain. These findings are consistent with the Easterlin hypothesis [Nations and Households in Economic Growth: Essays in Honour of Moses Abramowitz (1974) Academic Press; J. Econ. Behav. Org., 27 (1995) 35]. The happiness of American blacks, however, has risen. White women in the US have been the biggest losers since the 1970s. Well-being equations have a stable structure. Money buys happiness. People care also about relative income. Well-being is U-shaped in age. The paper estimates the dollar values of events like unemployment and divorce. They are large. A lasting marriage (compared to widowhood as a ‘natural’ experiment), for example, is estimated to be worth $100,000 a year.

Item Type:	Journal Article
Subjects:	H Social Sciences > HB Economic Theory
Divisions:	Faculty of Social Sciences > Economics
Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH):	Happiness, Macroeconomics, Well-being -- United States, Well-being -- Great Britain
Journal or Publication Title:	Journal of Public Economics
Publisher:	Elsevier BV
ISSN:	0047-2727
Date:	5 December 2002
Volume:	Vol.88
Number:	No.7-8
Page Range:	pp. 1359-1386
Identification Number:	10.1016/S0047-2727(02)00168-8
Status:	Peer Reviewed
Access rights to Published version:	Open Access
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URI:	http://wrap.warwick.ac.uk/id/eprint/315

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