Clark, Andrew E., Flèche, Sarah and Senik, Claudia (2014) Economic growth evens-out happiness: evidence from six surveys. CEP Discussion Papers (CEPDP1306). London School of Economics and Political Science. Centre for Economic Performance, London, UK.
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Abstract
In spite of the great U-turn that saw income inequality rise in Western countries in the 1980s, happiness inequality has fallen in countries that have experienced income growth (but not in those that did not). Modern growth has reduced the share of both the “very unhappy” and the “perfectly happy”. Lower happiness inequality is found both between and within countries, and between and within individuals. Our cross-country regression results argue that the extension of various public goods helps to explain this greater happiness homogeneity. This new stylised fact arguably comes as a bonus to the Easterlin paradox, offering a somewhat brighter perspective for developing countries.
Item Type: | Monograph (Discussion Paper) |
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Official URL: | http://cep.lse.ac.uk/_new/publications/series.asp?... |
Additional Information: | © 2014 The Authors |
Divisions: | Centre for Economic Performance |
Subjects: | H Social Sciences > HC Economic History and Conditions H Social Sciences > HV Social pathology. Social and public welfare. Criminology |
JEL classification: | D - Microeconomics > D3 - Distribution > D31 - Personal Income, Wealth, and Their Distributions D - Microeconomics > D6 - Welfare Economics I - Health, Education, and Welfare > I3 - Welfare and Poverty > I31 - General Welfare; Basic Needs; Living Standards; Quality of Life; Happiness O - Economic Development, Technological Change, and Growth > O1 - Economic Development > O15 - Human Resources; Human Development; Income Distribution; Migration |
Date Deposited: | 17 Dec 2014 09:56 |
Last Modified: | 13 Sep 2024 20:29 |
Funders: | Economic and Social Research Council |
URI: | http://eprints.lse.ac.uk/id/eprint/60530 |
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