Ambition and jealousy: Income interactions in the 'Old Europe versus the 'New' Europe and the United States

Claudia Senik ()
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Claudia Senik: PJSE - Paris-Jourdan Sciences Economiques - ENS-PSL - École normale supérieure - Paris - PSL - Université Paris Sciences et Lettres - EHESS - École des hautes études en sciences sociales - ENPC - École nationale des ponts et chaussées - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, UP4 - Université Paris-Sorbonne, PSE - Paris School of Economics - UP1 - Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne - ENS-PSL - École normale supérieure - Paris - PSL - Université Paris Sciences et Lettres - EHESS - École des hautes études en sciences sociales - ENPC - École nationale des ponts et chaussées - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique - INRAE - Institut National de Recherche pour l’Agriculture, l’Alimentation et l’Environnement

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Abstract: Using individual-level data from a large number of countries, this paper examines how self-reported subjective well-being depends on own income and reference income, where reference income is defined as the income of one's professional peers. It uncovers a divide between 'old'--low-mobility--European countries on the one hand, and 'new' European post-Transition countries and the United States on the other. The relative importance of comparisons ('jealousy') versus information ('ambition') seems to depend on the degree of mobility and uncertainty in the considered countries.

Date: 2008-08
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (49)

Published in Economica, 2008, 75 (299), pp.495-513. ⟨10.1111/j.1468-0335.2007.00629.x⟩

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:hal:pseptp:halshs-00754274

DOI: 10.1111/j.1468-0335.2007.00629.x

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