|
on Economics of Happiness |
|
Issue of 2025–11–03
five papers chosen by Viviana Di Giovinazzo, Università degli Studi di Milano-Bicocca |
| By: | Danzer, Natalia (Freie Universität Berlin); Kranton, Rachel; Larysz, Piotr (Freie Universität Berlin); Senik, Claudia (Paris School of Economics) |
| Abstract: | How do gender identity and norms relate to happiness? This paper takes advantage of the 2024 European Social Survey, which asks respondents to report their feelings of femininity and masculinity, and studies the relationships between these self-assessments, (non-)conformity to gender norms, and life satisfaction. The results show a robust asymmetry between men and women. For men, feeling more masculine, behaving in ways more typical of men, and life satisfaction are all positively cross-correlated. For women, while feeling more feminine and life satisfaction are similarly positively correlated, behaving in ways more typical of women is, in contrast, associated with lower life satisfaction. These patterns vary across European regions, potentially reflecting different histories. The results are robust to alternative measures of typical behavior of men and women and subjective well-being. The findings support theories of gender identity and reveal possible trade-offs implied by gender norms for women. |
| Keywords: | life satisfaction, measures of norms, masculinity, femininity, gender identity, subjective well-being |
| JEL: | I31 J16 Z10 |
| Date: | 2025–10 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp18209 |
| By: | Jonathan Davis; Nathan Deutscher; Bhashkar Mazumder |
| Abstract: | Studies of intergenerational mobility have begun to expand outside of the traditional outcomes such as income, education and occupation, into using alternative measures of wellbeing. In this chapter we survey the evidence on studies of these alternative measures with a focus on health, consumption and life satisfaction. We also incorporate lessons from the income mobility literature that may be relevant for how we think about these alternative measures both conceptually and empirically. We highlight a few approaches that researchers can consider to incorporate alternative measures and we conclude that a widening of our conception of intergenerational mobility to incorporate measures of wellbeing may identify shortfalls in some of our current approaches. |
| JEL: | E2 I14 I3 J62 |
| Date: | 2025–10 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:34407 |
| By: | Samuel MacIsaac |
| Abstract: | On average, individuals who own their dwelling report higher satisfaction with their dwelling, neighbourhood and life than renters. These differences may reflect a positive causal impact of ownership on satisfaction. However, these differences could also reflect compositional effects, such as differences in household, dwelling and neighbourhood characteristics. Using the 2021 Canadian Housing Survey, this study shows that these differences in satisfaction narrow substantially, or disappear entirely, upon controlling for compositional effects. For instance, the majority of the dwelling satisfaction gap between renters and owners could be attributed to owners being more likely to reside in single-detached dwellings, with more bedrooms, and fewer dwelling issues such as mould or pests. Similarly, the life satisfaction gap was largely tied to household composition differences such as owners being less likely to experience financial difficulties and other differences related to their health status, marital status and age. In other words, comparable individuals living in comparable dwellings and neighbourhoods report similar satisfaction levels. This finding suggests that the impact of ownership on satisfaction, if any, is relatively small. This finding does not rule out the possibility that ownership can provide other social or economic benefits. |
| Keywords: | Housing tenure, dwelling satisfaction, neighbourhood satisfaction, life satisfaction |
| JEL: | J23 M21 |
| Date: | 2024–06–26 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:stc:stcp8e:202400600004e |
| By: | Sabina Alkire; Maya Evans; James Foster |
| Abstract: | Momentum is gathering on the implementation of commitments made by the international community to build a measurement framework that respects and accurately reflects the ambitions of sustainable development, going beyond Gross Domestic Product (GDP) - "Beyond GDP". This paper proposes eight criteria by which to assess some component indicators in the Beyond GDP framework. Applying these criteria, this paper proposes that the Beyond GDP framework includes a small suite of multidimensional measures based on the counting tradition for measuring acute poverty, moderate poverty, and well-being. This paper proposes using the existing Global Multidimensional Poverty Index for a global comparison for developing countries; a new Global Moderate Multidimensional Poverty Index that assesses multidimensional poverty in groups or countries at higher levels of human development; National Multidimensional Poverty Indices, extended to all countries according to their definitions of poverty; and finally a Multidimensional Well-Being Index trialled and developed for national contexts, rolled out across more countries, with a globally comparable Multidimensional Well-being Index (MWI) developed over time. |
| Keywords: | Beyond GDP, Global Multidimensional Poverty Index, Poverty |
| JEL: | D63 I32 |
| Date: | 2025–10 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:une:cpaper:060 |
| By: | Alberto Baccini |
| Abstract: | This article challenges the conventional reading of Francis Ysidro Edgeworth by reconstructing his intellectual project of unifying the moral sciences through mathematics. The contribution he made in the first phase of his writing, culminating in \textit{Mathematical Psychics}, aimed to reconfigure utilitarianism as an exact science, grounding it in psychophysics and evolutionary biology. In order to solve the utilitarian problem of maximizing pleasure for a given set of sentient beings, he modeled individuals as ``quasi-Fechnerian'' functions, which incorporated their capacity for pleasure as determined by their place in the evolutionary order. The problem of maximization is solved by distributing means according to the individuals' capacity for pleasure. His radical anti-egalitarian conclusions did not stem from an abstract principle of justice, but from the necessity to maximize welfare among naturally unequal beings. This logic was applied not only to sentients of different evolutionary orders, such as Mr. Pongo, a famous gorilla, and humans, but also to human races, sexes, and classes. The system, in essence, uses the apparent neutrality of science to naturalize and justify pre-existing social hierarchies. This analysis reveals that the subsequent surgical removal of his utilitarianism by economists, starting with Schumpeter, while making his tools palatable, eviscerates his overarching philosophical system. |
| Date: | 2025–10 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:arx:papers:2510.20854 |