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on Economics of Happiness |
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Issue of 2007‒10‒13
two papers chosen by |
| By: | Amnon Levy (University of Wollongong) |
| Abstract: | Sensitivity of sincere social communication to economic status disparity is incorporated into the construction of sincere social-capital index. The consideration of this index leads to the depiction of the happiness-wealth relationship as an inverted U-shaped curve that peaks at a larger than the average personal wealth. The deviation of the happiness-maximizing wealth from the community average is positively related to the ratio of the rates of return on wealth and sincere social capital and is compounded by the actual and desired community sizes and by the minimum sincere social capital associated with becoming the community’s ultimate wealth holder. |
| Keywords: | Economic status disparity; Community size; Social capital; Interpersonal communication; Happiness. |
| JEL: | D01 D3 |
| Date: | 2007 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:uow:depec1:wp07-08&r=hap |
| By: | Jeffrey Grogger; Lynn Karoly |
| Abstract: | Transfer payments to poor families are increasingly conditioned on work, either via wage subsidies available only to workers or via work requirements in more traditional welfare programs. Although the effects of such programs on employment are fairly well understood, relatively little is known about their effects on marriage or child well-being. We review a small number of studies that provide such information here. Our discussion of marriage is couched in terms of a theoretical model that draws from the efficient-household literature. The model is consistent with the wide range of effects that we observe and suggests an explanation for some of the observed differences. The theoretical framework in which we couch our review of results on children is likewise consistent with the observed variation between programs and among children of different ages. |
| JEL: | I3 J0 |
| Date: | 2007–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:13485&r=hap |