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Cited by 889Psychological Well-being and Life SatisfactionQuality of Life MeasurementIncome, Poverty, and Inequality

The DOI matches its Crossref record; 100 of the 169 references it cites were found in a registry or an index.

Some Uses of Happiness Data in Economics

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Tella, Rafael Di, MacCulloch, Robert·2006·Journal of Economic Perspectives
DOI 10.1257/089533006776526111
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Abstract

Happiness research is based on the idea that it is fruitful to study empirical measures of individual welfare. The most common is the answer to a simple well-being question such as “Are you Happy?” Hundreds of thousands of individuals have been asked this question, in many countries and over many years. Researchers have begun to use these data to tackle a variety of important questions in economics. Some require strong assumptions concerning interpersonal comparisons of utility, but others make only mild assumptions in this regard. They range from microeconomic questions, such as the way income and utility are connected, to macroeconomic questions such as the tradeoff between inflation and unemployment, including large areas in political economy. Public policy is another area where progress using happiness data is taking place. Given the central role of utility notions in economic theory, we argue that the use of happiness data in empirical research should be given serious consideration.

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Research works printed but not linked: 5

  1. Alesina Alberto, 2002, Brookings Papers on Economic Activity., 2, 187
  2. 10.1016/S0047-2727(02)00168-8 · DOI
  3. Krugman Paul, 1994, Foreign Affairs., 2
  4. 10.1037/0003-066X.48.11.1117 · DOI
  5. 1997, Journal of Research in Personality., 31, 240

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Metadata

Authors
Tella, R. D., & MacCulloch, R.
Affiliations
  • Harvard University (US)
  • Imperial College London (GB)
ORCID
MacCulloch, Robert
Venue
Journal of Economic Perspectives
Publisher
American Economic Association
Published
2006-02-01
Volume
20
Issue
1
Pages
25-46
ISSN
0895-3309 (ISSN-L)
DOI
10.1257/089533006776526111
OpenAlex
W1977288176
Cited by
889
References
101
Citations by year
2026: 17 · 2025: 12 · 2024: 24 · 2023: 24 · 2022: 20 · 2021: 24 · 2020: 47 · 2019: 40 · 2018: 26 · 2017: 39 · 2016: 49 · 2015: 64 · 2014: 70 · 2013: 70 · 2012: 58
FWCI
79.51
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Locations
  • The Journal of Economic Perspectives (publishedVersion)
  • RePEc: Research Papers in Economics (submittedVersion)
  • ResearchSpace (University of Auckland) (submittedVersion, cc-by)
Topics
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Social Psychology › Psychological Well-being and Life Satisfaction
  • Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Quality of Life Measurement
  • Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Income, Poverty, and Inequality
Keywords
subjective well-being, interpersonal utility comparison, Phillips curve, political economy, public policy evaluation, happiness surveys

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