Subjective Well-Being: Weather Matters; Climate Doesn't

John Feddersen, Robert Metcalfe () and Mark Wooden
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John Feddersen: Department of Economics, University of Oxford

Melbourne Institute Working Paper Series from Melbourne Institute of Applied Economic and Social Research, The University of Melbourne

Abstract: We investigate the impact of short-term weather and long-term climate on self-reported life satisfaction using panel data. We find robust evidence that day-to-day weather variation impacts life satisfaction by a similar magnitude to acquiring a mild disability. Utilizing two sources of variation in the cognitive complexity of satisfaction questions, we present evidence that weather bias arises because of the cognitive challenge of reporting life satisfaction. Consistent with past studies, we detect a relationship between long-term climate and life satisfaction without individual fixed effects. This relationship is not robust to individual fixed effects, suggesting climate does not directly influence life satisfaction.

JEL-codes: C23 C81 C83 Q51 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 49 pages
Date: 2012-11
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (9)

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Working Paper: Subjective Well-Being: Weather Matters; Climate Doesn't (2012)
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:iae:iaewps:wp2012n25

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