The Asymmetric Experience of Positive and Negative Economic Growth: Global Evidence Using Subjective Well-Being Data

Jan-Emmanuel De Neve, George Ward, Femke De Keulenaer, Bert Van Landeghem, Georgios Kavetsos and Michael I. Norton
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George Ward: MIT and Centre for Economic Performance
Femke De Keulenaer: IPSOS
Michael I. Norton: Harvard Business School

The Review of Economics and Statistics, 2018, vol. 100, issue 2, 362-375

Abstract: Are individuals more sensitive to losses than gains in terms of economic growth?We find that measures of subjective well-being are more than twice as sensitive to negative as compared to positive economic growth. We use Gallup World Poll data from over 150 countries, BRFSS data on 2.3 million U.S. respondents, and Eurobarometer data that cover multiple business cycles over four decades. This research provides a new perspective on the welfare cost of business cycles, with implications for growth policy and the nature of the long-run relationship between GDP and subjective well-being.

Date: 2018
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Related works:
Working Paper: The Asymmetric Experience of Positive and Negative Economic Growth: Global Evidence Using Subjective Well-Being Data (2015)
Working Paper: The Asymmetric Experience of Positive and Negative Economic Growth: Global Evidence Using Subjective Well-Being Data (2014)
Working Paper: The asymmetric experience of positive and negative economic growth: global evidence using subjective well-being data (2014)
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