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Cited by 959

The DOI matches its Crossref record; 3 of the 3 references it cites were found in a registry or an index.

Explaining happiness

Open access
Easterlin, Richard A.·2003·Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
DOI 10.1073/pnas.1633144100
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Abstract

What do social survey data tell us about the determinants of happiness? First, that the psychologists' setpoint model is questionable. Life events in the nonpecuniary domain, such as marriage, divorce, and serious disability, have a lasting effect on happiness, and do not simply deflect the average person temporarily above or below a setpoint given by genetics and personality. Second, mainstream economists' inference that in the pecuniary domain “more is better,” based on revealed preference theory, is problematic. An increase in income, and thus in the goods at one's disposal, does not bring with it a lasting increase in happiness because of the negative effect on utility of hedonic adaptation and social comparison. A better theory of happiness builds on the evidence that adaptation and social comparison affect utility less in the nonpecuniary than pecuniary domains. Because individuals fail to anticipate the extent to which adaptation and social comparison undermine expected utility in the pecuniary domain, they allocate an excessive amount of time to pecuniary goals, and shortchange nonpecuniary ends such as family life and health, reducing their happiness. There is need to devise policies that will yield better-informed individual preferences, and thereby increase individual and societal well-being.

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Metadata

Authors
Easterlin, R. A.
Venue
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
Publisher
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
Published
2003-09-04
Volume
100
Issue
19
Pages
11176-11183
ISSN
  • 0027-8424 (ISSN-L)
  • 1091-6490
DOI
10.1073/pnas.1633144100
OpenAlex
W193119862
Cited by
959
References
3
FWCI
25.75
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
green

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