From Individual Wellbeing to Economic Welfare. The Scitovsky Contribution to the Explanation of a Joyless Economy

Viviana Di Giovinazzo ()
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Viviana Di Giovinazzo: University of Macerata and Université Paris 1, Pantheon-Sorbonne

European Journal of Economic and Social Systems, 2008, vol. 21, issue 1, 57-81

Abstract: This paper analyzes Tibor Scitovsky's attempt to solve the paradox of consumers' dissatisfaction in welfare societies. My research concentrate on Scitovsky's ground-breaking book, The Joyless Economy (1992a[1976]) which has been the first book to apply theories of neuropsychology to questions of consumer behavior in clear, non-technical language. When explaining the neurological basis of creative innovation, Tibor Scitovsky's The Joyless Economy apparently suggests just some devices for consumer's satisfaction; actually it lays the foundations for an economic theory where novelty is the key element to assess the utility value and knowledge is the means to gain more novelty.

Keywords: Novelty; Arousal; Stimulating Activities; Comfort; Boredom; Knowledge; Culture (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: D60 I30 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2008
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