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Happiness and Domain Satisfaction: Theory and Evidence

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Author Info
Richard A. Easterlin () (University of Southern California and IZA)
Onnicha Sawangfa () (University of Southern California)
Abstract

In the United States happiness, on average, varies positively with socio-economic status; is fairly constant over time; rises to midlife and then declines; and is lower among younger than older birth cohorts. These four patterns of mean happiness can be predicted rather closely from the mean satisfaction people report with each of four domains - finances, family life, work, and health. Even though the domain satisfaction patterns typically differ from each other and from that for happiness, they come together in a way that explains quite well the overall patterns of happiness. The importance of any given domain depends on the happiness relation under study (by socio-economic status, time, age or birth cohort), and no single domain is invariably the key to happiness.

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Publisher Info
Paper provided by Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA) in its series IZA Discussion Papers with number 2584.

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Length: 35 pages
Date of creation: Jan 2007
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Handle: RePEc:iza:izadps:dp2584

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Related research
Keywords: happiness domain satisfaction subjective well-being

Find related papers by JEL classification:
I3 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Welfare and Poverty
D60 - Microeconomics - - Welfare Economics - - - General
D1 - Microeconomics - - Household Behavior
O51 - Economic Development, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economywide Country Studies - - - U.S.; Canada

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References listed on IDEAS
Please report citation or reference errors to , or , if you are the registered author of the cited work, log in to your RePEc Author Service profile, click on "citations" and make appropriate adjustments.:
  1. David G. Blanchflower & Andrew J. Oswald, 2007. "Is Well-Being U-Shaped over the Life Cycle?," IZA Discussion Papers 3075, Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA). [Downloadable!]
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  2. Carol Graham, 2005. "Insights on Development from the Economics of Happiness," World Bank Research Observer, Oxford University Press, vol. 20(2), pages 201-231.
  3. van Praag, B. M. S. & Frijters, P. & Ferrer-i-Carbonell, A., 2003. "The anatomy of subjective well-being," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 51(1), pages 29-49, May. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
    Other versions:
  4. Bruno S. Frey & Alois Stutzer, 2002. "What Can Economists Learn from Happiness Research?," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 40(2), pages 402-435, June.
    Other versions:
  5. Hayo, Bernd & Seifert, Wolfgang, 2003. "Subjective economic well-being in Eastern Europe," Journal of Economic Psychology, Elsevier, vol. 24(3), pages 329-348, June. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  6. Rafael Di Tella & Robert MacCulloch, 2006. "Some Uses of Happiness Data in Economics," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 20(1), pages 25-46, Winter. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  7. Andrew E. Clark & Paul Frijters & Michael A. Shields, 2006. "Income and happiness: Evidence, explanations and economic implications," PSE Working Papers 2006-24, PSE (Ecole normale supérieure). [Downloadable!]
  8. de la Croix, David, 1998. "Growth and the relativity of satisfaction," Mathematical Social Sciences, Elsevier, vol. 36(2), pages 105-125, September. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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