Legacy effects and individual heterogeneity in the relationship between health and wellbeing

Peter Howley

Chapter 15 in Handbook on Wellbeing, Happiness and the Environment, 2020, pp 283-296 from Edward Elgar Publishing

Abstract: There is much evidence in both the economics and the psychology literature to suggest that health is an important driver of perceived wellbeing. This chapter focuses on an examination of two potentially important issues that have been underexplored within the health and wellbeing literature to date, namely legacy effects and individual heterogeneity. First, in terms of legacy effects, it seems reasonable to suggest that health conditions may have significant consequences for wellbeing, even after an individual feels that they have fully recovered. Second, while health clearly matters for wellbeing, there may be significant heterogeneity in this relationship. Focusing on cancer as a case study, the author provides preliminary evidence to suggest that individuals may not revert back to an initial set-point level of wellbeing even after they feel that they have fully recovered from cancer (legacy effects), and that the relationship between cancer and wellbeing differs sharply depending on personality traits (individual heterogeneity).

Keywords: Economics and Finance (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
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