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On the Causal Impact of Relational Goods on Happiness

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Abstract

We study the effect of relational goods on life satisfaction. We consider that retirement is an event after which the time investable in personal relationships increases so we instrument social life, which we suspect of being endogenous, with the sample proportion of retired by year. With such approach we document that relational goods have a positive and significant effect on life satisfaction.

Suggested Citation

  • Leonardo Becchetti & Elena Giachin Ricca & Alessandra Pelloni, 2009. "On the Causal Impact of Relational Goods on Happiness," CEIS Research Paper 151, Tor Vergata University, CEIS, revised 04 Dec 2009.
    • Handle: RePEc:rtv:ceisrp:151
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    Cited by:

    1. Fabio Sabatini, 2011. "Can a click buy a little happiness? The impact of business-to-consumer e-commerce on subjective well-being," EERI Research Paper Series EERI_RP_2011_12, Economics and Econometrics Research Institute (EERI), Brussels.
    2. Antje Mertens & Miriam Beblo, 2016. "Self-Reported Satisfaction and the Economic Crisis of 2007–2010: Or How People in the UK and Germany Perceive a Severe Cyclical Downturn," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 125(2), pages 537-565, January.
    3. Lotito, Gianna & Migheli, Matteo & Ortona, Guido, 2011. "An experimental inquiry into the nature of relational goods," POLIS Working Papers 160, Institute of Public Policy and Public Choice - POLIS.
    4. Damiano Fiorillo & Nunzia Nappo, 2014. "Job satisfaction in Italy: individual characteristics and social relations," International Journal of Social Economics, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 41(8), pages 683-704, August.
    5. 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.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    life satisfaction; relational goods; social capital.;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • I30 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Welfare, Well-Being, and Poverty - - - General
    • D61 - Microeconomics - - Welfare Economics - - - Allocative Efficiency; Cost-Benefit Analysis
    • A11 - General Economics and Teaching - - General Economics - - - Role of Economics; Role of Economists
    • A13 - General Economics and Teaching - - General Economics - - - Relation of Economics to Social Values

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