National Happiness and Genetic Distance: A Cautious Exploration

Eugenio Proto and Andrew J. Oswald
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Andrew J. Oswald: The University of Warwick

CAGE Online Working Paper Series from Competitive Advantage in the Global Economy (CAGE)

Abstract: This paper examines a famous puzzle in social science. Why do some nations report such high happiness? Denmark, for instance, regularly tops the league table of rich nations’ well-being; Great Britain and the US enter further down; France and Italy do relatively poorly. Yet the explanation for this ranking one that holds even after adjustment for GDP and socio-economic and cultural variables remains unknown. We explore a new avenue. Using data on 131 countries, we cautiously document a range of evidence consistent with the hypothesis that certain nations may have a genetic advantage in well-being.

Keywords: Happiness (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2014
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-evo, nep-hap, nep-hpe and nep-ltv
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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http://www2.warwick.ac.uk/fac/soc/economics/resear ... s/196-2014_proto.pdf

Related works:
Journal Article: National Happiness and Genetic Distance: A Cautious Exploration (2017)
Working Paper: National Happiness and Genetic Distance: A Cautious Exploration (2016)
Working Paper: National Happiness and Genetic Distance: A Cautious Exploration (2016)
Working Paper: National Happiness and Genetic Distance: A Cautious Exploration (2016)
Working Paper: National Happiness and Genetic Distance: A Cautious Exploration (2015)
Working Paper: National Happiness and Genetic Distance: A Cautious Exploration (2014)
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:cge:wacage:196

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