Cross-country variations in subjective wellbeing explained by the climate

The authors review the literature on the role of the climate in explaining geographical variations in subjective wellbeing (SWB) and update their earlier research on this topic. According to the results of the literature review and also those of their empirical analysis two key findings emerge. First, it is important to distinguish those climates where temperature varies across the annual cycle from those where it does not. Second, when appropriate representations of the climate are used climate variables can be extremely important. Next to gross domestic product per capita it appears that climate is the most important determinant of cross-country variations in SWB. Such findings amply demonstrate the potential threat to wellbeing posed by climate change.