IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/spo/wpmain/infohdl2441-5k53daedc2827oa91tfpuscvbn.html
   My bibliography  Save this paper

Big Data Measures of Well-Being: Evidence from a Google Well-Being Index in the US

Author

Listed:
  • Yann Algan

    (Département d'économie (ECON))

  • Elizabeth Beasley

    (Département d'économie (ECON))

  • Florian Guyot

    (Département d'économie)

  • Kazuhito Higad

    (Organisation de Coopération et de Développement Économiques (OCDE))

  • Fabrice Murtin

    (Organisation de Coopération et de Développement Économiques (OCDE))

  • Claudia Senik

    (Paris-Jourdan Sciences Economiques)

Abstract

We build an indicator of individual wellbeing in the United States based on Google Trends. The indicator is a combination of keyword groups that are endogenously identified to fit with weekly timeseries of subjective wellbeing measures collected by Gallup Analytics surveys. We show that such information from Big Data can be used to build a model that accurately forecasts survey-based measures of subjective well-being. The model successfully predicts the out-of-sample evolution of most subjective well-being measures at a one-year horizon. This opens up the possibility to use Big Data as a complement to traditional survey data to measure and analyze the well-being of population at high frequency and very local geographic level. We show that we can also exploit the internet search volume to elicit the main life dimensions related to well-being. We find that keywords associated with job search, financial security, family life and leisure are the strongest predictors of the variations in subjective well-being in the United States. This paper contributes to the new research agenda on data sciences by showing how Big Data can improve our understanding of the foundations of human well-being.

Suggested Citation

  • Yann Algan & Elizabeth Beasley & Florian Guyot & Kazuhito Higad & Fabrice Murtin & Claudia Senik, 2015. "Big Data Measures of Well-Being: Evidence from a Google Well-Being Index in the US," Sciences Po publications info:hdl:2441/5k53daedc28, Sciences Po.
    • Handle: RePEc:spo:wpmain:info:hdl:2441/5k53daedc2827oa91tfpuscvbn
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://spire.sciencespo.fr/hdl:/2441/5k53daedc2827oa91tfpuscvbn/resources/algan-et-al-2015-2.pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://spire.sciencespo.fr/hdl:/2441/5k53daedc2827oa91tfpuscvbn/resources/2016-algan-big-data-measures-of-well-being.pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    Other versions of this item:

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. D'Amuri, Francesco & Marcucci, Juri, 2009. "‘Google it!’ Forecasting the US unemployment rate with a Google job search index," ISER Working Paper Series 2009-32, Institute for Social and Economic Research.
    2. John F. Helliwell & Christopher P. Barrington-Leigh & Anthony Harris & Haifang Huang, 2009. "International Evidence on the Social Context of Well-Being," NBER Working Papers 14720, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    3. Nikolaos Askitas & Klaus F. Zimmermann, 2009. "Google Econometrics and Unemployment Forecasting," Applied Economics Quarterly (formerly: Konjunkturpolitik), Duncker & Humblot, Berlin, vol. 55(2), pages 107-120.
    4. Theo S. Eicher & Chris Papageorgiou & Adrian E. Raftery, 2011. "Default priors and predictive performance in Bayesian model averaging, with application to growth determinants," Journal of Applied Econometrics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 26(1), pages 30-55, January/F.
    5. Krueger, Alan B. (ed.), 2009. "Measuring the Subjective Well-Being of Nations," National Bureau of Economic Research Books, University of Chicago Press, number 9780226454566, December.
    6. Daniel J. Benjamin & Ori Heffetz & Miles S. Kimball & Nichole Szembrot, 2014. "Beyond Happiness and Satisfaction: Toward Well-Being Indices Based on Stated Preference," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 104(9), pages 2698-2735, September.
    7. Andrew E. Clark & Ed Diener & Yannis Georgellis & Richard E. Lucas, 2008. "Lags And Leads in Life Satisfaction: a Test of the Baseline Hypothesis," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 118(529), pages 222-243, June.
    8. Hyunyoung Choi & Hal Varian, 2012. "Predicting the Present with Google Trends," The Economic Record, The Economic Society of Australia, vol. 88(s1), pages 2-9, June.
    9. Alan B. Krueger, 2009. "Measuring the Subjective Well-Being of Nations: National Accounts of Time Use and Well-Being," NBER Books, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc, number krue08-1, March.
    10. D’Amuri, Francesco & Marcucci, Juri, 2010. "“Google it!” Forecasting the US Unemployment Rate with a Google Job Search index," Global Challenges Papers 60680, Fondazione Eni Enrico Mattei (FEEM).
    11. Dimitris Mavridis, 2015. "The unhappily unemployed return to work faster," IZA Journal of Labor Economics, Springer;Forschungsinstitut zur Zukunft der Arbeit GmbH (IZA), vol. 4(1), pages 1-22, December.
    12. Scott R. Baker & Andrey Fradkin, 2017. "The Impact of Unemployment Insurance on Job Search: Evidence from Google Search Data," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 99(5), pages 756-768, December.
    13. Lelkes, Orsolya, 2006. "Knowing what is good for you: Empirical analysis of personal preferences and the "objective good"," Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Economics (formerly The Journal of Socio-Economics), Elsevier, vol. 35(2), pages 285-307, April.
    14. Tanya Suhoy, 2009. "Query Indices and a 2008 Downturn: Israeli Data," Bank of Israel Working Papers 2009.06, Bank of Israel.
    15. Angus Deaton, 2008. "Income, Health, and Well-Being around the World: Evidence from the Gallup World Poll," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 22(2), pages 53-72, Spring.
    16. Krueger, Alan B. (ed.), 2009. "Measuring the Subjective Well-Being of Nations," University of Chicago Press Economics Books, University of Chicago Press, number 9780226454573, April.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Rossouw, Stephanie & Greyling, Talita, 2020. "Big Data and Happiness," GLO Discussion Paper Series 634, Global Labor Organization (GLO).

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. repec:hal:spmain:info:hdl:2441/5k53daedc2827oa91tfpuscvbn is not listed on IDEAS
    2. Yann Algan & Fabrice Murtin & Elizabeth Beasley & Kazuhito Higa & Claudia Senik, 2019. "Well-being through the lens of the internet," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 14(1), pages 1-23, January.
    3. repec:hal:spmain:info:hdl:2441/63csdfkqvu9nfanvuffe3qk8r6 is not listed on IDEAS
    4. Yann Algan & Elizabeth Beasley & Florian Guyot & Kazuhito Higad & Fabrice Murtin & Claudia Senik, 2015. "Big Data Measures of Well-Being: Evidence from a Google Well-Being Index in the US," Sciences Po publications info:hdl:2441/5k53daedc28, Sciences Po.
    5. Yann Algan & Elizabeth Beasley & Florian Guyot & Kazuhito Higa & Fabrice Murtin & Claudia Senik, 2016. "Big Data Measures of Well-Being: Evidence From a Google Well-Being Index in the United States," OECD Statistics Working Papers 2016/3, OECD Publishing.
    6. Andreas Knabe & Steffen Rätzel & Ronnie Schöb & Joachim Weimann, 2010. "Dissatisfied with Life but Having a Good Day: Time-use and Well-being of the Unemployed," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 120(547), pages 867-889, September.
    7. John F. Helliwell & Shun Wang, 2010. "Trust and Well-being," NBER Working Papers 15911, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    8. Stutzer, Alois & Frey, Bruno S., 2012. "Recent Developments in the Economics of Happiness: A Selective Overview," IZA Discussion Papers 7078, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    9. Czapinski, Janusz, 2013. "The economics of happiness and psychology of wealth," MPRA Paper 52897, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    10. Arnaud Joskin, 2017. "Working Paper 04-17 - Qu’est-ce qui compte pour les Belges ? Analyse des déterminants du bien-être individuel en Belgique [Working Paper 04-17 - Wat telt voor de Belgen? Analyse van de determinante," Working Papers 1704, Federal Planning Bureau, Belgium.
    11. Jacques Bughin, 2015. "Google searches and twitter mood: nowcasting telecom sales performance," Netnomics, Springer, vol. 16(1), pages 87-105, August.
    12. Chien-jung Ting & Yi-Long Hsiao, 2022. "Nowcasting the GDP in Taiwan and the Real-Time Tourism Data," Advances in Management and Applied Economics, SCIENPRESS Ltd, vol. 12(3), pages 1-2.
    13. Tobias Wolf & Maria Metzing & Richard E. Lucas, 2022. "Experienced Well-Being and Labor Market Status: The Role of Pleasure and Meaning," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 163(2), pages 691-721, September.
    14. Chien-jung Ting & Yi-Long Hsiao & Rui-jun Su, 2022. "Application of the Real-Time Tourism Data in Nowcasting the Service Consumption in Taiwan," Journal of Applied Finance & Banking, SCIENPRESS Ltd, vol. 12(4), pages 1-4.
    15. John F. Helliwell & Christopher P. Barrington-Leigh, 2010. "Measuring and Understanding Subjective Well-Being," NBER Working Papers 15887, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    16. Baetschmann, Gregori & Staub, Kevin E. & Studer, Raphael, 2016. "Does the stork deliver happiness? Parenthood and life satisfaction," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 130(C), pages 242-260.
    17. Gutiérrez, Antonio, 2023. "La brecha de género en el emprendimiento y la cultura emprendedora: Evidencia con Google Trends [Entrepreneurship gender gap and entrepreneurial culture: Evidence from Google Trends]," MPRA Paper 115876, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    18. Tuhkuri, Joonas, 2016. "Forecasting Unemployment with Google Searches," ETLA Working Papers 35, The Research Institute of the Finnish Economy.
    19. D’Amuri, Francesco & Marcucci, Juri, 2017. "The predictive power of Google searches in forecasting US unemployment," International Journal of Forecasting, Elsevier, vol. 33(4), pages 801-816.
    20. Gutiérrez, Antonio, 2022. "Movilidad urbana y datos de alta frecuencia [Urban mobility and high frequency data]," MPRA Paper 114854, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    21. Stefano Bartolini & Ennio Bilancini & Francesco Sarracino, 2013. "Predicting the Trend of Well-Being in Germany: How Much Do Comparisons, Adaptation and Sociability Matter?," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 114(2), pages 169-191, November.
    22. Pedersen, Peder J. & Schmidt, Torben Dall, 2014. "Life Events and Subjective Well-being: The Case of Having Children," IZA Discussion Papers 8207, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:spo:wpmain:info:hdl:2441/5k53daedc2827oa91tfpuscvbn. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Spire @ Sciences Po Library (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/ecspofr.html .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.