Hierarchical Needs, Income Comparisons and Happiness Levels

Stavros Drakopoulos

MPRA Paper from University Library of Munich, Germany

Abstract: The cornerstone of the hierarchical approach is that there are some basic human needs which must be satisfied before non-basic needs come into the picture. The hierarchical structure of needs implies that the satisfaction of primary needs provides substantial increases to individual happiness compared to the subsequent satisfaction of secondary needs. This idea can be combined with the concept of comparison income which means that individuals compare rewards with individuals with similar characteristics. These two notions could provide additional explanations of empirical findings indicating a positive relationship between income and happiness up to certain level of income

Keywords: Income Comparisons; Hierarchical Needs; Happiness (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I0 I3 I30 I31 Y80 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2011-09
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

Published in Quality of Life: A Positive Psychology Perspective, A. Efklides and D. Moraitou (eds), New York: Springer (2013): pp. 17-32

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