Fleurbaey, Marc and Schwandt, Hannes (2015) Do people seek to maximize their subjective well-being? CEP Discussion Paper (1391). London School of Economics and Political Science. Centre for Economic Performance, London, UK.
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Abstract
In a new survey we ask respondents, after a standard Subjective Well-Being (SWB) question, if they can think of changes in their lives that would improve their SWB score. If the SWB score is just one argument among others in the respondents’ goals in life, they should easily find ways to improve it, at the expense of other dimensions they care about. Our results suggest that close to 90% of the respondents actually seek to maximize their SWB. The life satisfaction question appears the best contender as the “maximand” in the contest, before the ladder-of-life question and felt happiness. Among the other goals that people pursue and for which they are willing to sacrifice some of their SWB, the prominent appear to be about their relatives and about their future self.
| Item Type: | Monograph (Discussion Paper) |
|---|---|
| Official URL: | http://cep.lse.ac.uk/ |
| Additional Information: | © 2015 The Author |
| Divisions: | Centre for Economic Performance |
| Subjects: | H Social Sciences > H Social Sciences (General) |
| JEL classification: | D - Microeconomics > D0 - General D - Microeconomics > D6 - Welfare Economics > D60 - General |
| Date Deposited: | 15 Jan 2016 09:39 |
| Last Modified: | 11 Dec 2024 19:19 |
| Funders: | Economic and Social Research Council |
| URI: | http://eprints.lse.ac.uk/id/eprint/65012 |
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