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Does Being Well-Off Make Us Happier? Problems of Measurement

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  • Jiri Zuzanek

Abstract

The article uses General Social Survey data (GSS) collected by Statistics Canada from 1986 to 2005 and experience sampling data (ESM) collected in 1985 and 2003 at the University of Waterloo to examine relationships between economic growth, household income, and subjective sense of well-being. The article puts to a test two propositions made by Easterlin (Nations and households in economic growth: Essays in Honor of Moses Abramovitz. Academic Press, New York, NY, 1974 ), namely that personal and household incomes correlate positively with subjective well-being, but this does not apply to the relationship between subjective well-being and societal economic growth. Analyses of GSS data reported in this article support Easterlin’s findings. They show that higher household incomes correlate positively with respondents’ retrospective assessments of life satisfaction, but economic growth has not been accompanied by a corresponding rise of subjective well-being. Analyses of ESM data suggest that when relationships between household income and subjective well-being are measured by “experiential” measures (Csikszentmihalyi and Larson in J Nerv Ment Dis 175: 526–537, 1987 ), these relationships are not statistically significant and subjective valuations of well-being taper off at the top of the income pyramid. Copyright Springer Science+Business Media B.V. 2013

Suggested Citation

  • Jiri Zuzanek, 2013. "Does Being Well-Off Make Us Happier? Problems of Measurement," Journal of Happiness Studies, Springer, vol. 14(3), pages 795-815, June.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:jhappi:v:14:y:2013:i:3:p:795-815
    DOI: 10.1007/s10902-012-9356-0
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    2. Aistė Dirzytė & Ona Gražina Rakauskienė & Vaida Servetkienė, 2016. "Household income and satisfaction with life: cognitive – emotional impact paradox," Entrepreneurship and Sustainability Issues, VsI Entrepreneurship and Sustainability Center, vol. 4(2), pages 198-210, December.
    3. Swee Ang & Elison Lim & Siew Leong & Zhaonan Chen, 2015. "In Pursuit of Happiness: Effects of Mental Subtraction and Alternative Comparison," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 122(1), pages 87-103, May.
    4. Ana I. Moro Egido, 2021. "Social Comparisons; the behavioural component," ThE Papers 21/04, Department of Economic Theory and Economic History of the University of Granada..
    5. M. Joseph Sirgy, 2018. "The Psychology of Material Well-Being," Applied Research in Quality of Life, Springer;International Society for Quality-of-Life Studies, vol. 13(2), pages 273-301, June.
    6. Nanarpuzha, Rajesh & Sarin, Ankur, 2021. "A capability pathway to subjective economic well-being: Looking beyond materialism," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 127(C), pages 66-76.
    7. Cem Başlevent & Hasan Kirmanoğlu, 2017. "Gender Inequality in Europe and the Life Satisfaction of Working and Non-working Women," Journal of Happiness Studies, Springer, vol. 18(1), pages 107-124, February.

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