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Well-being over time in Britain and the USA

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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. doi:10.1016/S0047-2727(02)00168-8

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Official URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S0047-2727(02)00168-8

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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
Official Date: 5 December 2002
Dates:
DateEvent
5 December 2002Published
Volume: Vol.88
Number: No.7-8
Page Range: pp. 1359-1386
DOI: 10.1016/S0047-2727(02)00168-8
Status: Peer Reviewed
Access rights to Published version: Open Access

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