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Are people’s economic wants insatiable? Examining the psychology of a basic economic belief

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  • Bain, Paul G.
  • Bongiorno, Renata

Abstract

Despite widespread claims by economists that humans have unlimited economic wants, evidence for this psychological claim is sparse. Here we focus on a common interpretation of unlimited wants as insatiable – unfulfilled wants persist even at higher incomes because new wants always emerge to replace satisfied wants. We analyzed a representative 16-year multi-wave US dataset (N=11865) previously used to show that economic wants are insatiable based on highly selective subsets of these data. Using the full dataset shows that having insatiable wants is far from universal – about a third reported no unfulfilled economic wants, and on average people with higher incomes had fewer wants. Additional analyses showed that many people did not aspire to wealth in their conception of “the good life”, and the extent of unfulfilled wants varied over time. This assumption about universal human nature is not supported, calling into question the theories and policies it informs.

Suggested Citation

  • Bain, Paul G. & Bongiorno, Renata, 2024. "Are people’s economic wants insatiable? Examining the psychology of a basic economic belief," EconStor Research Reports 301038, ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics.
    • Handle: RePEc:zbw:esrepo:301038
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Ricardo F. Crespo, 2013. "Two conceptions of economics and maximisation," Cambridge Journal of Economics, Cambridge Political Economy Society, vol. 37(4), pages 759-774.
    2. Easterlin, Richard A, 2001. "Income and Happiness: Towards an Unified Theory," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 111(473), pages 465-484, July.
    3. Anke Plagnol & Richard Easterlin, 2008. "Aspirations, Attainments, and Satisfaction: Life Cycle Differences Between American Women and Men," Journal of Happiness Studies, Springer, vol. 9(4), pages 601-619, December.
    4. Richard A. Easterlin, 2021. "An Economist’s Lessons on Happiness," Springer Books, Springer, number 978-3-030-61962-6, December.
    5. Paul G. Bain & Renata Bongiorno, 2022. "Evidence from 33 countries challenges the assumption of unlimited wants," Nature Sustainability, Nature, vol. 5(8), pages 669-673, August.
    6. Easterlin, Richard A., 2005. "A puzzle for adaptive theory," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 56(4), pages 513-521, April.
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    unlimited wants; insatiability;

    JEL classification:

    • A10 - General Economics and Teaching - - General Economics - - - General
    • A12 - General Economics and Teaching - - General Economics - - - Relation of Economics to Other Disciplines
    • A13 - General Economics and Teaching - - General Economics - - - Relation of Economics to Social Values

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