UNSPECIFIED. (2004) Well-being over time in Britain and the USA. JOURNAL OF PUBLIC ECONOMICS, 88 (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 wellbeing 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. (C) 2002 Published by Elsevier B.V.

Item Type:	Journal Article
Subjects:	H Social Sciences > HC Economic History and Conditions
Journal or Publication Title:	JOURNAL OF PUBLIC ECONOMICS
Publisher:	ELSEVIER SCIENCE SA
ISSN:	0047-2727
Date:	July 2004
Volume:	88
Number:	7-8
Number of Pages:	28
Page Range:	pp. 1359-1386
Publication Status:	Published
URI:	http://wrap.warwick.ac.uk/id/eprint/8607

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