Four Decades of the Economics of Happiness: Where Next?

Clark, Andrew E.

doi:10.1111/roiw.12369

Cited by 194 publications

(131 citation statements)

References 135 publications

(132 reference statements)

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“…Marsh (1986;also Möller & Marsh, 2013) has also argued for the importance of a third psychological comparison process: dimensional comparisons that involve contrasting one's own achievement in different areas (e.g.,, math achievement and verbal achievement, and relative performances in different events in a triathlon). Support for these comparison processes has been shown not only in psychological research but also in other fields like economics (e.g., relative rather than absolute income impacts well-being; Clark, 2018). Thus, economist Frank (2012) posited an evolutionary (Darwinian) perspective in which the tendency to compare ourselves to immediate others is a fundamental and largely unalterable aspect of our human nature.…”

Section: Psychological Comparison Processes and Frame-of-reference Efmentioning

confidence: 99%

Psychological Comparison Processes and Self–Concept in Relation to Five Distinct Frame–Of–Reference Effects: Pan–Human Cross–Cultural Generalizability over 68 Countries

et al. 2020

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The concept of self is central to personhood, but personality research has largely ignored the relevance of recent advances in self‐concept theory: multidimensionality of self‐concept (focusing instead on self‐esteem, an implicit unidimensional approach), domain specificity (generalizability of trait manifestations over different domains), and multilevel perspectives in which social‐cognitive processes and contextual effects drive self‐perceptions at different levels (individual, group/institution, and country) aligned to Bronfenbrenner's ecological model. Here, we provide theoretical and empirical support for psychological comparison processes that influence self‐perceptions and their relation to distal outcomes. Our meta‐theoretical integration of social and dimensional comparison theories synthesizes five seemingly paradoxical frame‐of‐reference and contextual effects in self‐concept formation that occur at different levels. The effects were tested with a sample of 485,490 fifteen‐year‐old students (68 countries/regions, 18,292 schools). Consistent with the dimensional comparison theory, the effects on math self‐concept were positive for math achievement but negative for verbal achievement. Consistent with the social comparison theory, the effects on math self‐concept were negative for school‐average math achievement (big‐fish‐little‐pond effect), country‐average achievement (paradoxical cross‐cultural effect), and being young relative to year in school but positive for school‐average verbal achievement (big‐fish‐little‐pond effect—compensatory effect). We demonstrate cross‐cultural generalizability/universality of support for predictions and discuss implications for personality research. © 2020 European Association of Personality Psychology

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Section: Psychological Comparison Processes and Frame-of-reference Efmentioning

confidence: 99%

Psychological Comparison Processes and Self–Concept in Relation to Five Distinct Frame–Of–Reference Effects: Pan–Human Cross–Cultural Generalizability over 68 Countries

et al. 2020

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“…SWB is "a subjective evaluation of whether one is happy, content, and satisfied with his or her life" (Cheung & Lucas, 2016, p. 332). Economists and psychologists have promoted SWB as a valuable supplement to traditional indicators that guide public policy, such as Gross Domestic Product and median income (Clark, 2018;Diener, Lucas, Schimmack, & Helliwell, 2009).…”

Section: Subjective Well-being (Swb)mentioning

confidence: 99%

Experiencing poverty in an online simulation: Effects on players’ beliefs, attitudes and behaviors about poverty

Hernández-Ramos¹,

Bachen²,

Raphael³

et al. 2019

Cyberpsychology

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Hernández-Ramos, P., Bachen, C. M., Raphael, C., Ifcher, J., Broghammer, M. (2019). Experiencing poverty in an online simulation: Effects on players' beliefs, attitudes and behaviors about poverty. AbstractDigital simulations are increasingly used to educate about the causes and effects of poverty, and inspire action to alleviate it. Drawing on research about attributions of poverty, subjective well-being, and relative income, this experimental study assesses the effects of an online poverty simulation (entitled Spent) on participants' beliefs, attitudes, and actions. Results show that, compared with a control group, Spent players donated marginally more money to a charity serving the poor and expressed higher support for policies benefitting the poor, but were less likely to take immediate political action by signing an online petition to support a higher minimum wage. Spent players also expressed greater subjective well-being than the control group, but this was not associated with increased policy support or donations. Spent players who experienced greater presence (perceived realism of the simulation) had higher levels of empathy, which contributed to attributing poverty to structural causes and support for anti-poverty policies. We draw conclusions for theory about the psychological experience of playing online poverty simulations, and for how they could be designed to stimulate charity and support for anti-poverty policies.

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“…4 See Frey & Stutzer (2010) and Clark (2016b) for overviews of the range of insights provided by the economics of well-being literature.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Early-life correlates of later-life well-being: Evidence from the Wisconsin Longitudinal Study

Clark

Lee

2021

Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization

Self Cite

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We here use data from the Wisconsin Longitudinal Study (WLS) to provide one of the first analyses of the distal (early-life) and proximal (later-life) correlates of older-life subjective well-being. Unusually, we have two distinct measures of the latter: happiness and eudaimonia. Even after controlling for proximal covariates, outcomes at age 18 (IQ score, parental income and parental education) remain good predictors of well-being over 50 years later. In terms of the proximal covariates, mental health and social participation are the strongest predictors of both measures of well-being in older age. However, there are notable differences in the other correlates of happiness and eudaimonia. As such, well-being policy will depend to an extent on which measure is preferred.

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Four Decades of the Economics of Happiness: Where Next?

Abstract: There has been explosive growth in the analysis of subjective well-being in Economics over the past 40 years. This article reviews some of this growth, and suggests a number of domains in which future research may proceed.JEL Codes: D60, I31

Cited by 194 publications

References 135 publications

Psychological Comparison Processes and Self–Concept in Relation to Five Distinct Frame–Of–Reference Effects: Pan–Human Cross–Cultural Generalizability over 68 Countries

Psychological Comparison Processes and Self–Concept in Relation to Five Distinct Frame–Of–Reference Effects: Pan–Human Cross–Cultural Generalizability over 68 Countries

Experiencing poverty in an online simulation: Effects on players’ beliefs, attitudes and behaviors about poverty

Early-life correlates of later-life well-being: Evidence from the Wisconsin Longitudinal Study

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