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Does Money Buy Happiness in Unhappy Russia?

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  • Zavisca, Jane
  • Hout, Michael

Abstract

Surveys rank Russians among the unhappiest people in the world. Contrary to popular accounts of a uniquely melancholic national character, the subjective wellbeing of Russians depends heavily on both individual and collective economic wellbeing. Individual differences in living standards account for much of the variation in happiness levels among Russians in cross-sectional survey data. These effects are particularly sharp when we expand our measure of economic status beyond income to incorporate household wealth. Individual changes in wealth, however, cannot explain the recent, dramatic improvement in the distribution of happiness in Russia. Based on panel analysis of longitudinal survey data, this shift should be attributed to the collective experience of recovery from the shock of the 1998 ruble crisis, rather than to individual economic trajectories.

Suggested Citation

  • Zavisca, Jane & Hout, Michael, 2005. "Does Money Buy Happiness in Unhappy Russia?," Program in Soviet and Post-Soviet Studies, Working Paper Series qt4j19w9f4, Institute of Slavic, East European, and Eurasian Studies, UC Berkeley.
    • Handle: RePEc:cdl:bpspss:qt4j19w9f4
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    Cited by:

    1. Bryukhanov, Maksym & Fedotenkov, Igor, 2017. "Religiosity and life satisfaction in Russia: Evidence from the Russian data," MPRA Paper 82750, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    2. Koen Decancq & Marc Fleurbaey & Erik Schokkaert, 2015. "Happiness, Equivalent Incomes and Respect for Individual Preferences," Economica, London School of Economics and Political Science, vol. 82, pages 1082-1106, December.
    3. James Rockey, 2009. "Who is left-wing, and who just thinks they are?," Discussion Papers in Economics 09/23, Division of Economics, School of Business, University of Leicester, revised Feb 2014.
    4. Kalyuzhnova, Yelena & Kambhampati, Uma, 2008. "The determinants of individual happiness in Kazakhstan," Economic Systems, Elsevier, vol. 32(3), pages 285-299, September.

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