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Happiness and Comparison Income: Evidence from Canada

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  • Ehsan Latif

    (Thompson Rivers University)

Abstract

Using data from the Canadian National Population Health Survey (1994–2009), this study examines the relationship between comparison income and individual happiness. This study utilizes two definitions of comparison income: Average income of the reference group and the difference between one’s own household income and the average income of the reference group. The estimations using the Ordered Probit Method suggest that an increase in the average income of the reference group reduces individual happiness. On the other hand, an individual’s happiness increases when his/her own household income becomes larger in comparison to the average income of the reference group. To check the robustness of these results, this study re-estimated all models using a different composition of the reference group. However, the basic results still hold, thus confirming that comparison income has a significant negative impact on an individual’s happiness level.

Suggested Citation

  • Ehsan Latif, 2016. "Happiness and Comparison Income: Evidence from Canada," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 128(1), pages 161-177, August.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:soinre:v:128:y:2016:i:1:d:10.1007_s11205-015-1024-4
    DOI: 10.1007/s11205-015-1024-4
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    Cited by:

    1. Matthew Brzozowski & Brenda Spotton Visano, 2020. "“Havin’ Money’s Not Everything, Not Havin’ It Is”: The Importance of Financial Satisfaction for Life Satisfaction in Financially Stressed Households," Journal of Happiness Studies, Springer, vol. 21(2), pages 573-591, February.
    2. Eiji Yamamura, 2021. "Where do I rank? Am I happy?: learning income position and subjective-wellbeing in an internet experiment," Papers 2107.11185, arXiv.org.
    3. David G. Blanchflower & Carol L. Graham, 2022. "The Mid-Life Dip in Well-Being: a Critique," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 161(1), pages 287-344, May.
    4. Huiyu Zhang & Ying Dai & Huimei Liu, 2021. "English Proficiency and Happiness: The Mediation of Income Satisfaction and Leisure Satisfaction and the Moderation of the National Economy," SAGE Open, , vol. 11(4), pages 21582440211, October.
    5. C. P. Barrington-Leigh & Katja Lemermeyer, 2023. "A Public, Open, and Independently-Curated Database of Happiness Coefficients," Journal of Happiness Studies, Springer, vol. 24(4), pages 1505-1531, April.

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