Social Comparisons on Subjective Well-Being: The Role of Social and Cultural Capital

Elena Barcena-Martin, Alexandra Cortés-Aguilar () and Ana Moro-Egido
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Alexandra Cortés-Aguilar: Universidad Industrial de Santander
Authors registered in the RePEc Author Service: Alexandra Cortés Aguilar

Journal of Happiness Studies, 2017, vol. 18, issue 4, No 11, 1145 pages

Abstract: Abstract Using the German Socio-Economic Panel, we analyze the relevance of modeling social comparisons to determine their effect on subjective well-being. We find that it is important to model social comparisons in such a way that captures the sensitivity of individuals to proximity. The impact on subjective well-being differs depending on the manner in which proximity is modeled, revealing that the underlying processes in comparisons are not homogenous along the income distribution. Additionally, our results point out that social and cultural capital modify the effect of social comparisons and such modification depends on the sensitivity to proximity.

Keywords: Subjective well-being; Social comparisons; Proximity; Social and cultural capital (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: C29 D31 I31 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2017
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (17)

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DOI: 10.1007/s10902-016-9768-3

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