Machiavelli versus concave utility functions: should bads be spread out or concentrated?

Frijters, Paul, Krekel, Christian and Ulker, Aydogan (2020) Machiavelli versus concave utility functions: should bads be spread out or concentrated? CEP Discussion Papers (CEPDP1680). London School of Economics and Political Science. Centre for Economic Performance, London, UK.

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Abstract

Is wellbeing higher if the same number of negative events is spread out rather than bunched in time? Should positive events be spread out or bunched? We answer these questions exploiting quarterly data on six positive and twelve negative life events in the Household, Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia panel. Accounting for selection, anticipation, and adaptation, we find a tipping point when it comes to negative events: once people experience about two negative events, their wellbeing depreciates disproportionally as more and more events occur in a given period. For positive events, effects are weakly decreasing in size. So for a person's wellbeing both the good and the bad should be spread out rather than bunched in time, corresponding to the classic economic presumption of concave utility rather than Machiavelli's prescript of inflicting all injuries at once. Yet, differences are small, with complete smoothing of all negative events over all people and periods calculated to yield no more than a 12% reduction in the total negative wellbeing impact of negative events.

Item Type:	Monograph (Discussion Paper)
Official URL:	https://cep.lse.ac.uk/_new/publications/discussion...
Additional Information:	© 2020 The Authors
Divisions:	Centre for Economic Performance Psychological and Behavioural Science
Subjects:	H Social Sciences > HC Economic History and Conditions
JEL classification:	I - Health, Education, and Welfare > I3 - Welfare and Poverty > I31 - General Welfare; Basic Needs; Living Standards; Quality of Life; Happiness D - Microeconomics > D1 - Household Behavior and Family Economics P - Economic Systems > P3 - Socialist Institutions and Their Transitions > P35 - Public Economics
Date Deposited:	14 Jan 2021 14:48
Last Modified:	11 Dec 2024 19:36
URI:	http://eprints.lse.ac.uk/id/eprint/108421

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