Money Doesn't Buy Happiness... Or Does It? A Reconsideration Based on the Combined Effects ofWealth, Income and Consumption
Author(s) / Creator(s)
Headey, Bruce
Muffels, Ruud
Wooden, Mark
Abstract / Description
The accepted view among psychologists and economists alike is that economic well-being has a statistically significant but only weak effect on happiness/subjective well-being (SWB). This view is based almost entirely on weak relationships with household income. The paper uses household economic panel data from five countries — Australia, Britain, Germany, Hungary and the Netherlands — to provide a reconsideration of the impact of economic wellbeing on happiness. The main conclusion is that happiness is considerably more affected by economic circumstances than previously believed. In all five countries wealth affects life satisfaction more than income. In the countries for which consumption data are available (Britain and Hungary), non-durable consumption expenditures also prove at least as important to happiness as income. Further, results from panel regression fixed effects models indicate that changes in wealth, income and consumption all produce significant, though not large, changes in satisfaction levels.
Keyword(s)
Verbrauch Wohlstand Einkommen Zufriedenheit Verbrauch Wohlstand Einkommen Zufriedenheit consumption economic well-being income life satisfaction subjective well-being wealthPersistent Identifier
Date of first publication
2004
Is part of series
Forschungsinstitut zur Zukunft der Arbeit/ Institute for the Study of Labor: IZA Discussion Paper Series;1218
Citation
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dp1218.pdfAdobe PDF - 195.01KBMD5: b7da7b209d51fa98fd090bd9f6bbd7fe
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There are no other versions of this object.
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Author(s) / Creator(s)Headey, Bruce
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Author(s) / Creator(s)Muffels, Ruud
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Author(s) / Creator(s)Wooden, Mark
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PsychArchives acquisition timestamp2022-11-17T11:02:34Z
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Made available on2008-06-30
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Made available on2015-12-01T10:32:15Z
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Made available on2022-11-17T11:02:34Z
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Date of first publication2004
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Abstract / DescriptionThe accepted view among psychologists and economists alike is that economic well-being has a statistically significant but only weak effect on happiness/subjective well-being (SWB). This view is based almost entirely on weak relationships with household income. The paper uses household economic panel data from five countries — Australia, Britain, Germany, Hungary and the Netherlands — to provide a reconsideration of the impact of economic wellbeing on happiness. The main conclusion is that happiness is considerably more affected by economic circumstances than previously believed. In all five countries wealth affects life satisfaction more than income. In the countries for which consumption data are available (Britain and Hungary), non-durable consumption expenditures also prove at least as important to happiness as income. Further, results from panel regression fixed effects models indicate that changes in wealth, income and consumption all produce significant, though not large, changes in satisfaction levels.en
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Persistent Identifierhttps://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:bsz:291-psydok-16751
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Persistent Identifierhttps://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11780/1140
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Persistent Identifierhttps://doi.org/10.23668/psycharchives.8948
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Language of contenteng
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Is part ofIZA Discussion Paper Series No. 1218
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Is part of seriesForschungsinstitut zur Zukunft der Arbeit/ Institute for the Study of Labor: IZA Discussion Paper Series;1218
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Keyword(s)Verbrauchde
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Keyword(s)Wohlstandde
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Keyword(s)Einkommende
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Keyword(s)Zufriedenheitde
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Keyword(s)Verbrauchde
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Keyword(s)Wohlstandde
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Keyword(s)Einkommende
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Keyword(s)Zufriedenheitde
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Keyword(s)consumptionen
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Keyword(s)economic well-beingen
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Keyword(s)incomeen
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Keyword(s)life satisfactionen
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Keyword(s)subjective well-beingen
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Keyword(s)wealthen
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Dewey Decimal Classification number(s)150
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TitleMoney Doesn't Buy Happiness... Or Does It? A Reconsideration Based on the Combined Effects ofWealth, Income and Consumptionen
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DRO typereport
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Visible tag(s)PsyDok