Clark, Andrew E. and Oswald, Andrew J. .
(2002)
A simple statistical method for measuring how life events affect happiness.
International Journal of Epidemiology, Vol.31
(No.6).
pp. 1139-1144.
ISSN 0300-5771
Abstract
Background Life events—like illness, marriage, or unemployment—have important effects on people. But there is no accepted way to measure the different sizes of these events upon human happiness and psychological health. By using happiness regression equations, economists have recently developed a method.
Methods We estimate happiness regressions using large random samples of individuals. The relative coefficients of income and life events on happiness allow us to calculate a monetary ‘compensating amount’ for each kind of life event.
Results The paper calculates the impact of different life events upon human well-being. Getting married, for instance, is calculated to bring each year the same amount of happiness, on average, as having an extra £70 000 of income per annum. The psychological costs of losing a job greatly exceed those from the pure drop in income. Health is hugely important to happiness. Widowhood brings a degree of unhappiness that would take, on average, an extra £170 000 per annum to offset. Well-being regressions also allow us to assess one of the oldest conjectures in social science—that well-being depends not just on absolute things but inherently on comparisons with other people. We find evidence for comparison effects.
Conclusion We believe that the new statistical method has many applications. In principle, it can be used to value any kind of event in life.
| Item Type: |
Journal Article
|
| Subjects: |
H Social Sciences > HB Economic Theory |
| Divisions: |
Faculty of Social Sciences > Economics |
| Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH): |
Happiness |
| Journal or Publication Title: |
International Journal of Epidemiology |
| Publisher: |
Oxford University Press |
| ISSN: |
0300-5771 |
| Official Date: |
2002 |
| Volume: |
Vol.31 |
| Number: |
No.6 |
| Page Range: |
pp. 1139-1144 |
| Identification Number: |
10.1093/ije/31.6.1139
|
| Status: |
Peer Reviewed |
| Access rights to Published version: |
Restricted or Subscription Access |
| References: |
1Veblen T. The Theory of the Leisure Class. Macmillan: New York 1899.
2Duesenberry JS. Income, Saving and the Theory of Consumer Behaviour.
Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press 1974.
3Oswald AJ. Happiness and Economic Performance. Economic Journal 1997; 107:
1815-1831.
4Palmore E. Predicting Longevity: A Follow-Up Controlling for Age. Journal of
Gerontology 1969; 39: 109-116.
5Sales SM, House J. Job Dissatisfaction as a Possible Risk Factor in Coronary Heart
Disease. Journal of Chronic Diseases 1971; 23: 861-873.
6Freeman RB. Job Satisfaction as an Economic Variable. American Economic
Review 1978; 68: 135-141.
7Akerlof GA, Rose AK, Yellen JL. Job Switching and Job Satisfaction in the U.S.
Labor Market. Brookings Papers on Economic Activity 1988; 2: 495-582.
8Clark AE. What Really Matters in a Job? Hedonic Measurement Using Quit Data.
Labour Economics 2001; 8: 223-242.
9Clegg CW. Psychology of Employee Lateness, Absence and Turnover: A
Methodological Critique and an Empirical Study. Journal of Applied
Psychology 1983; 68: 88-101.
10Mangione TW, Quinn RP. Job Satisfaction, Counter-Productive Behaviour and
Drug Use at Work. Journal of Applied Psychology 1975; 60: 114-116.
11Clark AE. Unemployment as a Social Norm: Psychological Evidence from Panel
Data. Journal of Labor Economics, forthcoming.
12Clark AE. Job Satisfaction in Britain. British Journal of Industrial Relations 1996; 34:
189-217.
13Blanchflower DG, Oswald AJ, Warr PB. Well-being over Time in Britain and the
USA. Paper presented at London School of Economics Happiness
Conference, February 1993.
14Blanchflower DG, Oswald AJ. Well-being over Time in Britain and the USA.
Unpublished paper, Dartmouth College, USA, 1999.
15van Praag B, Baarsma B. The Shadow Price of Aircraft Noise Nuisance. Tinbergen
Institute, Discussion Paper TI 2000-04/3 2000.
16Clark AE, Oswald AJ. Unhappiness and Unemployment. Economic Journal 1994;
104: 648-659.
17
17Winkelmann L, Winkelmann R. Why are the Unemployed so Unhappy? Evidence
from Panel Data. Economica 1991; 65: 1-15.
18Veenhoven R. Does Happiness Bind? Marriage Chances of the Unhappy. in:
Veenhoven R. (ed.). How Harmful is Happiness? Universitaire Pers
Rotterdam: Rotterdam 1989.
19Easterlin R. Does Economic Growth Improve the Human Lot? in David PA and
Melvin WB. (eds.). Nations and Households in Economic Growth. Palo Alto:
Stanford University Press 1974.
20Hagerty M, Veenhoven R. Wealth and Happiness Revisited. Growing wealth of
nations does go with greater happiness. University of California-Davis,
mimeo 2001.
21Veenhoven R. National Wealth and Individual Happiness. in Grunert K, Olander M.
(eds.). Understanding Economic Behavior. Dordrecht: Kluwer Academic
1989.
22van Praag B, Kapteyn A. Further Evidence on the Individual Welfare Function of
Income: An Empirical Investigation in the Netherlands. European Economic
Review 1973; 4: 33-62.
23Hagenaars AJ. The Perception of Poverty. Amsterdam: North-Holland 1986.
24Clark AE, Oswald AJ. Satisfaction and Comparison Income. Journal of Public
Economics 1996; 61: 359-81.
25Clark AE. L'utilité est-elle relative? Analyse à l'aide de données sur les ménages.
Economie et Prévision 1996; 121: 151-164.
26Clark AE. Are Wages Habit-Forming? Evidence from Micro Data. Journal of
Economic Behavior and Organization 1999; 39: 179-200.
27Di Tella R, MacCulloch R, Oswald A. Preferences over Inflation and
Unemployment: Evidence from Surveys of Happiness. American Economic
Review 2001; 91: 335-341. |
| URI: |
http://wrap.warwick.ac.uk/id/eprint/343 |
Data sourced from Thomson Reuters' Web of Knowledge
Request changes to a record
Actions (login required)
 |
View Item |
Tools
Tools
![[img]](http://wrap.warwick.ac.uk/style/images/fileicons/application_pdf.png)
![[img]](http://wrap.warwick.ac.uk/style/images/fileicons/application_msword.png)
