Happiness Matters: Productivity Gains from Subjective Well-Being

Charles-Henri DiMaria, Chiara Peroni () and Francesco Sarracino

Journal of Happiness Studies, 2020, vol. 21, issue 1, No 8, 139-160

Abstract: Abstract This article studies the link between subjective well-being and productivity at the aggregate level, using a matched dataset from surveys and official statistics. Well-being and productivity are measured, respectively, by life satisfaction and total factor productivity. The analysis, which applies non-parametric frontier techniques in a production framework, finds that life satisfaction generates significant productivity gains in a sample of 20 European countries. These results confirm the evidence of a positive association between the variables of interest found at the individual and firm level, and support the view that promoting subjective well-being is not only desirable per se, but it is conducive to higher productivity and improved countries’ economic performances.

Keywords: Productivity; Subjective well-being; Total factor productivity; Efficiency; Life satisfaction; Economic growth; DEA; Combined data (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: E23 I31 O47 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (32)

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DOI: 10.1007/s10902-019-00074-1

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