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Happiness and the Human Development Index : The Paradox of Australia Author info | Abstract | Publisher info | Download info | Related research | Statistics Blanchflower, David G (Dartmouth College)
Oswald, Andrew J (Warwick University and Harvard University)
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According to the well-being measure known as the U.N. Human Development Index, Australia now ranks 3rd in the world and higher than all other English-speaking nations. This paper questions that assessment. It reviews work on the economics of happiness, considers implications for policymakers, and explores where Australia lies in international subjective well-being rankings. Using new data on approximately 50,000 randomly sampled individuals from 35 nations, the paper shows that Australians have some of the lowest levels of job satisfaction in the world. Moreover, among the sub-sample of English-speaking nations, where a common language should help subjective measures to be reliable, Australia performs poorly on a range of happiness indicators. The paper discusses this paradox. Our purpose is not to reject HDI methods, but rather to argue that much remains to be understood in this area.
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Paper provided by University of Warwick, Department of Economics in its series The Warwick Economics Research Paper Series (TWERPS) with number
726.
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Length: 24 pages
Date of creation: 2005Date of revision:
Handle: RePEc:wrk:warwec:726Contact details of provider: Postal: CV4 7AL COVENTRY Phone: +44 (0) 2476 523202 Fax: +44 (0) 2476 523032 Web page: http://www2.warwick.ac.uk/fac/soc/economics/ More information through EDIRC
For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its listing, contact: (Margaret Nash).
Keywords: Well-being ; happiness ; HDI ; macroeconomics ; Other versions of this item:
Find related papers by JEL classification: E6 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Macroeconomic Policy, Macroeconomic Aspects of Public Finance, and General Outlook
This paper has been announced in the following NEP Reports :
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Full
references Cited by : (explanations , 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.)
David G. Blanchflower, 2007.
"Is Unemployment More Costly Than Inflation? ,"
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NBER Working Papers
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Other versions: David G. Blanchflower, 2008.
"International evidence on well-being ,"
NBER Working Papers
14318, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
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Other versions: Álvarez De Toledo Saavedra, Pablo & Núñez Hernández, Fernando & Usabiaga Ibáñez, Carlos, 2006.
"El Diferencial de Desempleo Andaluz: Análisis SVAR de la Curva de Beveridge/Andalusian Unemployment Differential: SVAR Analysis of the Beveridge Curve ,"
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