Happiness and Growth the World Over: Time Series Evidence on the Happiness-Income Paradox

Richard Easterlin and Laura Angelescu McVey ()
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Laura Angelescu McVey: University of Southern California

No 4060, IZA Discussion Papers from Institute of Labor Economics (IZA)

Abstract: There is no significant relationship between the improvement in happiness and the long term rate of growth of GDP per capita. This is true for three groups of countries analyzed separately ? 17 developed, 9 developing, and 11 transition ? and also for the 37 countries taken together. Time series studies reporting a positive relationship confuse a short-term positive association between the growth of happiness and income, arising from fluctuations in macroeconomic conditions, with the long-term relationship, which is nil.

Keywords: happiness; economic growth; developing countries; transition countries; developed countries (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: D60 I31 O10 P27 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 31 pages
Date: 2009-03
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-dev, nep-hap, nep-ltv and nep-soc
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (98)

Published - published in: R.A. Easterlin, Happiness, Growth, and the Life Cycle, Chapter 5, Oxford University Press, 2011

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