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What do Happiness Data Mean? Theory and Survey Evidence

Author

Listed:
  • Daniel J Benjamin
  • Jakina Debnam Guzman
  • Marc Fleurbaey
  • Ori Heffetz
  • Miles Kimball

Abstract

What utility notion—e.g. flow/lifetime, self/family-centered—do self-reported well-being (SWB) questions measure? Existing applications make different assumptions regarding the (i) life domains, (ii) time horizons, and (iii) other-regarding preferences captured by SWB data. To obtain relevant evidence, we ask survey respondents what they had in mind regarding (i)–(iii) when answering commonly used—life satisfaction, happiness, ladder—and new SWB questions. We find that respondents’ self-reports differ from researchers’ assumptions and differ across SWB questions and sociodemographic groups. At the same time, simple SWB-question wording tweaks are effective in moving self-reports toward desired interpretations. We outline actionable suggestions for SWB researchers. (JEL: D69, D90, I31)

Suggested Citation

  • Daniel J Benjamin & Jakina Debnam Guzman & Marc Fleurbaey & Ori Heffetz & Miles Kimball, 2023. "What do Happiness Data Mean? Theory and Survey Evidence," Journal of the European Economic Association, European Economic Association, vol. 21(6), pages 2377-2412.
    • Handle: RePEc:oup:jeurec:v:21:y:2023:i:6:p:2377-2412.
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    File URL: http://hdl.handle.net/10.1093/jeea/jvad026
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    Cited by:

    1. Jeehoon Han & Caspar Kaiser, 2024. "Time use and happiness: US evidence across three decades," Journal of Population Economics, Springer;European Society for Population Economics, vol. 37(1), pages 1-25, March.
    2. repec:osf:socarx:gzt7a_v1 is not listed on IDEAS
    3. Paul Frijters & Christian Krekel & Raúl Sanchis & Ziggi Ivan Santini, 2024. "Correction: The WELLBY: a new measure of social value and progress," Humanities and Social Sciences Communications, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 11(1), pages 1-1, December.
    4. Elena Bassoli, 2023. "An Empirical Analysis of Health-Dependent Utility on SHARE and ELSA Data," Italian Economic Journal: A Continuation of Rivista Italiana degli Economisti and Giornale degli Economisti, Springer;Società Italiana degli Economisti (Italian Economic Association), vol. 9(3), pages 1217-1261, November.
    5. Bellet, Clément S., 2024. "The McMansion effect: Positional externalities in U.S. suburbs," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 238(C).
    6. Kristen Cooper & Mark Fabian & Christian Krekel, 2023. "New approaches to measuring welfare," Fiscal Studies, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 44(2), pages 123-135, June.
    7. Decerf,Benoit Marie A, 2024. "Multidimensional Well-Being Measurement Practices : A Review Focused on Improving Global Multidimensional Poverty Indicators," Policy Research Working Paper Series 10800, The World Bank.
    8. Burdin, Gabriel & Kambayashi, Ryo & Kato, Takao, 2024. "The Impact of Overtime Limits on Firms and Workers: Evidence from Japan's Work Style Reform," IZA Discussion Papers 17583, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    9. Kaiser, Caspar, 2022. "Using memories to assess the intrapersonal comparability of wellbeing reports," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 193(C), pages 410-442.
    10. Tobias Börger & Anna Maccagnan & Mathew P. White & Lewis R. Elliott & Tim Taylor, 2023. "Was the trip worth it? Consistency between decision and experienced utility assessments of recreational nature visits," American Journal of Agricultural Economics, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 105(2), pages 525-545, March.
    11. Fumagalli, Elena & Fumagalli, Laura, 2022. "Subjective well-being and the gender composition of the reference group: Evidence from a survey experiment," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 194(C), pages 196-219.
    12. Alan Piper, 2022. "Optimism, pessimism and life satisfaction: an empirical investigation," International Review of Economics, Springer;Happiness Economics and Interpersonal Relations (HEIRS), vol. 69(2), pages 177-208, June.
    13. Frijters, Paul & Krekel, Christian & Ulker, Aydogan, 2023. "Should bads be inflicted all at once, like Machiavelli said? Evidence from life-satisfaction data," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 205(C), pages 1-27.

    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • D69 - Microeconomics - - Welfare Economics - - - Other
    • D90 - Microeconomics - - Micro-Based Behavioral Economics - - - General
    • I31 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Welfare, Well-Being, and Poverty - - - General Welfare, Well-Being

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