%0 Report
        %A Stevenson, Betsey
%A Wolfers, Justin
        %T Economic Growth and Subjective Well-Being: Reassessing the Easterlin Paradox
        %D 2008
        %8 2008 Aug
        %I Institute of Labor Economics (IZA)
        %C Bonn
        %7 IZA Discussion Paper
        %N 3654
        %U https://www.iza.org/publications/dp3654
        %X The “Easterlin paradox” suggests that there is no link between a society’s economic development and its average level of happiness. We re-assess this paradox analyzing multiple rich datasets spanning many decades. Using recent data on a broader array of countries, we establish a clear positive link between average levels of subjective well-being and GDP per capita across countries, and find no evidence of a satiation point beyond which wealthier countries have no further increases in subjective well-being. We show that the estimated relationship is consistent across many datasets and is similar to the relationship between subject well-being and income observed within countries. Finally, examining the relationship between changes in subjective well-being and income over time within countries we find economic growth associated with rising happiness. Together these findings indicate a clear role for absolute income and a more limited role for relative income comparisons in determining happiness.
        %K subjective well-being
%K Easterlin Paradox
%K life satisfaction
%K economic growth
%K well-being-income gradient
%K happiness
%K hedonic treadmill