Does Happiness Adapt? A Longitudinal Study of Disability with Implications for Economists and Judges

Andrew Oswald and Nattavudh Powdthavee

No 2208, IZA Discussion Papers from Institute of Labor Economics (IZA)

Abstract: Economics ignores the possibility of hedonic adaptation (the idea that people bounce back from utility shocks). This paper argues that economists are wrong to do so. It provides longitudinal evidence that individuals who become disabled go on to exhibit recovery in mental wellbeing. Adaptation to severe disability, however, is shown to be incomplete. The paper suggests ways to calculate the level of compensatory damages for the pain and suffering from disablement. Courts all over the world currently use ad hoc methods.

Keywords: disability; adaptation; happiness; legal compensation; wellbeing; GHQ scores (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: D1 I3 I31 K0 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 40 pages
Date: 2006-07
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-cbe, nep-hea, nep-hpe, nep-law and nep-ltv
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (99)

Published - published in: Journal of Public Economics, 2008, 92 (5-6), 1061-1077

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Journal Article: Does happiness adapt? A longitudinal study of disability with implications for economists and judges (2008)
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