Wealth Influences Life Satisfaction More Than Income: A Supplement to The Easterlin Paradox

Abstract

The standard view in Life Satisfaction research is that economic well-being has only modest effects on subjective well-being, at least in relatively well off Western countries. More pointedly, the Easterlin Paradox (Easterlin RA, ‘Does economic growth improve the human lot? Some empirical evidence’. In David PA, Reder MW (eds) Nations and households in economic growth: essays in honour of Moses Abramowitz. Academic, New York, pp 89–125, 1974, J Econ Behav Organ 27:35–47, 1995; Easterlin RA, Angelescu L, Happiness and growth the World over: time series evidence on the happiness-income paradox. IZA Discussion Paper No. 4060, Bonn, IZA, 2009) is the claim that ‘economic growth does not improve ..