Hypertension and Happiness across Nations

David Blanchflower and Andrew Oswald

No 12934, NBER Working Papers from National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc

Abstract: A modern statistical literature argues that countries such as Denmark are particularly happy while nations like East Germany are not. Are such claims credible? The paper explores this by building on two ideas. The first is that psychological well-being and high blood-pressure are thought by clinicians to be inversely correlated. The second is that blood-pressure problems can be reported more objectively than mental well-being. Using data on 16 countries, the paper finds that happier nations report lower levels of hypertension. The paper's results are consistent with, and seem to offer a step towards the validation of, cross-national estimates of well-being.

JEL-codes: I10 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2007-02
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-hea, nep-hpe and nep-ltv
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (16)

Published as Blanchflower, David G. & Oswald, Andrew J., 2008. "Hypertension and happiness across nations," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 27(2), pages 218-233, March.

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Related works:
Journal Article: Hypertension and happiness across nations (2008)
Working Paper: Hypertension and Happiness across Nations (2007)
Working Paper: Hypertension and Happiness across Nations (2007)
Working Paper: Hypertension and Happiness across Nations (2007)
Working Paper: Hypertension and Happiness across Nations (2007)
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