Objective Confirmation of Subjective Measures of Human Well-being: Evidence from the USA

Andrew Oswald and Stephen Wu

No 4695, IZA Discussion Papers from Institute of Labor Economics (IZA)

Abstract: A huge research literature, across the behavioral and social sciences, uses information on individuals' subjective well-being. These are responses to questions – asked by survey interviewers or medical personnel – such as "how happy do you feel on a scale from 1 to 4?" Yet there is little scientific evidence that such data are meaningful. This study examines a 2005-2008 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System random sample of 1.3 million United States citizens. Life-satisfaction in each U.S. state is measured. Across America, people's answers trace out the same pattern of quality of life as previously estimated, using solely non-subjective data, in a literature from economics (so-called 'compensating differentials' neoclassical theory due originally to Adam Smith). There is a state-by-state match (r = 0.6, p

Keywords: compensating differentials; well-being; happiness; spatial equilibrium (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I31 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 10 pages
Date: 2010-01
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-hap, nep-hpe and nep-ltv
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (332)

Published - published in: Science, 2010, 327 (5965), 576-579

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