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on Economics of Happiness |
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Issue of 2026–09–21
six papers chosen by Viviana Di Giovinazzo, Università degli Studi di Milano-Bicocca |
| By: | O'Connor, Kelsey (STATEC Research – National Institute of Statistics and Economic Studies) |
| Abstract: | The Easterlin Paradox refers to the apparent contradiction between the cross-sectional and time-series relationships between GDP per capita and evaluative happiness – at a point in time, countries with greater GDP per capita are on average happier, but over time, long-run GDP growth does not correlate meaningfully with long-run happiness growth. Yet not everyone agrees. After more than fifty years since Easterlin's original article, the Paradox remains controversial and is frequently misunderstood. This article reviews the evolution of the Easterlin Paradox and briefly discusses its modern definition, explanations, best practices for testing, empirical extensions, and common misconceptions and critiques, with particular attention on methodology. Recent evidence indicates there is a broad range of long-run happiness changes, but these changes do not meaningfully correlate with long-run GDP growth rates, even in less developed countries. The implications are part of why the Paradox is so controversial. Economic growth alone does not constitute development or societal progress. In Easterlin’s words, it is time to move on [beyond GDP] and discover what explains why happiness grew in some countries and not others. |
| Keywords: | Easterlin Paradox, economic growth, income, happiness, life satisfaction, subjective well-being, development |
| JEL: | I31 D60 O10 O5 |
| Date: | 2026–08 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp18874 |
| By: | Jan Berendsen (University of Hamburg); Robert Dur (Erasmus University Rotterdam); Iris Kesternich (University of Hamburg) |
| Abstract: | It has been argued that the search for meaning is among the strongest drivers of human behavior. We ran a survey on a large representative sample to assess how important it is for people to lead a meaningful life, what makes life meaningful, what differentiates meaning from happiness, and whether people who find meaning important lead different lives than people who prioritize happiness. We collect three types of data: open questions, vignettes, and self-reported meaning and happiness. We show that people care strongly about both meaning and happiness and that the drivers of a meaningful and happy life differ in important ways. Moreover, we find interesting gender differences and a substantial underestimation by women of how much children contribute to men's meaning and happiness. |
| Keywords: | Meaning; Happiness; Survey data; Vignette study; Large Language Models; Gender |
| JEL: | D00 D9 I3 |
| Date: | 2026–09–06 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:tin:wpaper:20260065 |
| By: | Joan Costa-Font; Sergi Jiménez-Martín; Cristina Vilaplana Prieto |
| Abstract: | We estimate the health and wellbeing effects of subsidized access to long-term care (LTC). Our analysis exploits the staggered implementation of Spain's 2007 System of Autonomy and Care for Dependent People (SAAD), which expanded publicly funded and universal LTC subsidies and supports, as well as its subsequent reform. Using two decades worth of administrative and survey data and leveraging exogenous regional and individual-level variation in program exposure, we find that access to SAAD benefits reduces the care receiver's depressive symptoms by about 1 percentage point, increases its survival probability by 2.6–3 percentage points, and raises its life satisfaction by 0.24–0.50 scale points. Cost-effectiveness estimates indicate that the implied cost per quality-adjusted life year (QALY) gained lies below commonly accepted efficiency thresholds for public health spending in Europe. These findings document sizeable health returns and efficiency gains from publicly subsidized LTC provision. |
| Keywords: | cost per QALY, life satisfaction, long-term care, long-term care subsidies, long-term care supports, mental health, mortality, old age care, Spain, survival |
| JEL: | I18 J14 J16 |
| Date: | 2026–09 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:bge:wpaper:1593 |
| By: | Nicola Caravaggio; Giuliano Resce; Agapito Emanuele Santangelo |
| Abstract: | This paper develops the Municipal Equitable and Sustainable Well-being Index (MESWI) for all Italian municipalities, extending the 12-domain BES framework to the local level through 49 indicators. Results reveal substantial territorial heterogeneity that regional and provincial statistics may conceal. The North-South divide remains the dominant geographical pattern and is considerably stronger than the difference between inner and non-inner areas. At the same time, municipalities within the same regions and territorial categories display markedly different well-being profiles. Remoteness is associated with weaker services and socio-economic opportunities but also with stronger environmental performance. The MESWI provides a fine-grained picture of multidimensional well-being and a potential information base for the programming, monitoring and evaluation of place-based policies. |
| Date: | 2026–08 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:arx:papers:2608.26426 |
| By: | Allmis, P.; Elliott, M.; Ghiglino, C.; Langtry, A. |
| Abstract: | Although social mobility is widely viewed as desirable, we document an 'inverse-U' shaped relationship with well-being: mobility is positively associated with well-being when low, but the association diminishes as mobility increases and eventually becomes negative. To explain this, we build a model in which agents are embedded in a social comparison network and suffer from falling behind their peers. The model highlights two channels that can cause welfare to be decreasing in mobility at high levels. First, when mobility is high, further increases widen already significant gaps between agents from similar parental backgrounds but of different abilities. Second, when mobility is high, high-ability agents are already relatively well off. So further increases in social mobility increase inequality. We find evidence supportive of both channels in US data. The model also predicts, and data supports, that social integration – where relationships form more along ability than background lines — allows societies to benefit from mobility for longer. We interpret this as social mobility being multidimensional with both economic and social dimensions that are complementary. |
| Date: | 2026–09–02 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cam:camdae:2675 |
| By: | Anjali Adukia; Matthew Bonci; Paula Dastres Gallardo; Emileigh Harrison; Jake Nicoll; Teodora Szasz |
| Abstract: | Emotional intelligence constitutes a key component of human capital, shaped partially by educational materials. Using machine learning and generative AI tools, we examine emotional content in public-school textbooks and children’s literature. A stark mismatch emerges: text exposes children to a broad emotional range, but images overwhelmingly depict happiness and calm, regardless of emotions described in text on the same page. Nearly half of pages show zero overlap between the emotions described in text and those shown in images. This pattern persists across time, contexts, and identities. Household purchases and library inventories suggest content may be endogenously shaped by consumer demand favoring "positive" cover imagery, implying market forces narrow the emotional landscape children encounter. |
| Keywords: | emotions, culture, content analysis, education policy, curriculum, artificial intelligence tools, computational social science, natural language processing, large language models, computer vision |
| JEL: | I20 I21 I24 L82 Z11 Z13 |
| Date: | 2026 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ces:ceswps:_12983 |