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Happiness Research: State and Prospects

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Author Info
Bruno S. Frey
Alois Stutzer

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Abstract

This paper intends to provide an evaluation of where the economic research on happiness stands and in which interesting directions it might develop. First, the current state of the research on happiness in economics is briefly discussed. We emphasize the potential of happiness research in testing competing theories of individual behavior. Second, the crucial issue of causality is taken up illustrating it for a particular case, namely whether marriage makes people happy or whether happy people get married. Third, happiness research is taken up as a new approach to measuring utility in the context of cost-benefit analysis.

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Paper provided by Institute for Empirical Research in Economics - IEW in its series IEW - Working Papers with number iewwp190.

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Handle: RePEc:zur:iewwpx:190

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Related research
Keywords: causality cost-benefit analysis happiness research life satisfaction approach marriage selection subjective well-being terrorism

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Find related papers by JEL classification:
D61 - Microeconomics - - Welfare Economics - - - Allocative Efficiency; Cost-Benefit Analysis
H41 - Public Economics - - Publicly Provided Goods - - - Public Goods
I31 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Welfare and Poverty - - - General Welfare
J12 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Marriage; Marital Dissolution; Family Structure

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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.:
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  15. Bruno S. Frey & Simon Luechinger & Alois Stutzer, 2004. "Valuing Public Goods: The Life Satisfaction Approach," CREMA Working Paper Series 2004-11, Center for Research in Economics, Management and the Arts (CREMA). [Downloadable!]
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  16. Francine D. Blau & Lawrence M. Kahn, 2000. "Gender Differences in Pay," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 14(4), pages 75-99, Fall. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  17. Frijters, Paul & Shields, Michael A. & Theodoropoulos, Nikolaos & Wheatley Price, Stephen, 2003. "Testing for Employee Discrimination Using Matched Employer-Employee Data: Theory and Evidence," IZA Discussion Papers 807, Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA). [Downloadable!]
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  19. Welsch, Heinz, 2002. "Preferences over Prosperity and Pollution: Environmental Valuation Based on Happiness Surveys," Kyklos, Blackwell Publishing, vol. 55(4), pages 473-94.
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  21. Richard E. Lucas & Andrew Clark & Yannis Georgellis & Ed Diener, 2002. "Re-Examining Adaptation and the Setpoint Model of Happiness: Reactions to Changes in Marital Status," DELTA Working Papers 2002-08, DELTA (Ecole normale supérieure). [Downloadable!]
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  23. Di Tella, Rafael & MacCulloch, Robert J. & Oswald, Andrew J., 2001. "The Macroeconomics of Happiness," The Warwick Economics Research Paper Series (TWERPS) 615, University of Warwick, Department of Economics. [Downloadable!]
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  24. Hens,Thorsten & Herings,P. Jean-Jacques & Predtetchinskii,Arkadi, 2003. "Limits to Arbitrage when Market Participation Is Restricted," Research Memoranda 061, Maastricht : METEOR, Maastricht Research School of Economics of Technology and Organization. [Downloadable!]
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  28. Bruno S. Frey & Stephan Meier, . "The Economics of Museums," IEW - Working Papers iewwp149, Institute for Empirical Research in Economics - IEW. [Downloadable!]
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  34. Clark, Andrew E., 1997. "Job satisfaction and gender: Why are women so happy at work?," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 4(4), pages 341-372, December. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  39. Bruno Frey & Alois Stutzer, 2005. "Happiness Research: State and Prospects," Review of Social Economy, Taylor and Francis Journals, vol. 63(2), pages 207-228, June. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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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.)

  1. Ernst Fehr & Susanne Kremhelmer & Klaus M. Schmidt, . "Fairness and the Optimal Allocation of Ownership Rights," IEW - Working Papers iewwp224, Institute for Empirical Research in Economics - IEW. [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
  2. Bruno S. Frey, . "Happiness Research: State and Prospects," IEW - Working Papers iewwp192, Institute for Empirical Research in Economics - IEW. [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
  3. Philipp C. Wichardt & Pavlo R. Blavatskyy, . "Base-Rate Neglect and Imperfect Information Acquisition," IEW - Working Papers iewwp233, Institute for Empirical Research in Economics - IEW. [Downloadable!]
  4. Peter Woehrmann & Willi Semmler & Martin Lettau, . "Nonparametric Estimation of the Time-varying Sharpe Ratio in Dynamic Asset Pricing Models," IEW - Working Papers iewwp225, Institute for Empirical Research in Economics - IEW. [Downloadable!]
  5. Philipp C. Wichardt, . "An Application of Global Games to Signalling Models," IEW - Working Papers iewwp223, Institute for Empirical Research in Economics - IEW. [Downloadable!]
  6. Salvador Barberà & Anke Gerber, . "A Note on the Impossibility of a Satisfactory Concept of Stability for Coalition Formation Games," IEW - Working Papers iewwp238, Institute for Empirical Research in Economics - IEW. [Downloadable!]
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  7. Bruno S. Frey & Alois Stutzer, . "Making International Organizations More Democratic," IEW - Working Papers iewwp217, Institute for Empirical Research in Economics - IEW. [Downloadable!]
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  8. Patrick Leoni, . "Learning in Repeated Games without Repeating the Game," IEW - Working Papers iewwp215, Institute for Empirical Research in Economics - IEW. [Downloadable!]
  9. Margit Osterloh & Bruno S. Frey, . "Shareholders Should Welcome Employees as Directors," IEW - Working Papers iewwp228, Institute for Empirical Research in Economics - IEW. [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
  10. Blanchflower, David G., 2008. "International Evidence on Well-being," IZA Discussion Papers 3354, Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA). [Downloadable!]
  11. Jani-Petri Laamanen & Kaisa Kotakorpi, 2007. "Welfare State and Life Satisfaction: Evidence from Public Health Care," Tinbergen Institute Discussion Papers 07-053/3, Tinbergen Institute. [Downloadable!]
  12. Anke Gerber, . "Learning in and about Games," IEW - Working Papers iewwp234, Institute for Empirical Research in Economics - IEW. [Downloadable!]
  13. Peter Woehrmann, . "A dynamic model of the financial–real interaction as a model selection criterion for nonparametric stock market prediction," IEW - Working Papers iewwp226, Institute for Empirical Research in Economics - IEW. [Downloadable!]
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