We survey 561 students from U.S. medical schools shortly after they submit choice rankings over residencies to the National Resident Matching Program. We elicit (a) these choice rankings, (b) anticipated subjective well-being (SWB) rankings, and (c) expected features of the residencies (such as...

Completeness and transitivity of preferences go a long way towards detennining what it is rational to do. This risks reducing being free to being rational or to being irrational. It is argued that in fact, preferences, and in particular abilities to perceive and evaluate, are, at least in part,...

The objective of this paper is to measure the effect of wealth on property victimization risk. Using data from two household victimization surveys conducted in São Paulo city and a measure of spending as a proxy for wealth observed by criminals, the conclusion was reached that wealth level is...

This paper describes the evolution of the main indicators of economic wellbeing and inequality in Italy from the aftermath of World War II onwards, showing that their dynamics have differed over time periods and population subgroups. It also presents some reflections on the adequacy of per...

Much debate exists around the impact that illegal file sharing may have on the creative industries. Similarly, opinions differ regarding whether the producers of artistic works should be forced to accept any weakening of intellectual property rights resulting from illegal file sharing, or if...

We propose a generalization of the decomposition by population subgroups of the α-Gini index, the so-called multi-level subgroup decomposition. We demonstrate that all components obtained from the decomposition, can integrate in their functional form a parameter of inequality sensitivity being...

We model self-control conflict as an agent’s stochastic struggle against a visceral influence that impels the agent to act sub-optimally. The agent holds costly pre-commitment technology to avoid the conflict altogether and may decide whether to procure pre-commitment or to confront the...

This paper presents a formalization and modification of Martin Seligman’s concept of full life, employing basic microeconomics. A class of Stone–Geary utility functions is proposed as an analytical tool for scrutinizing individual decision making with respect to a pleasant, engaged and...

The cross-country correlation between social trust and income equality is well documented, but few studies examine the direction of causality. We show theoretically that by facilitating cooperation, trust may lead to more equal outcomes, while the feedback from inequality to trust is ambiguous....

This paper proposes foundations and a methodology for survey-based tracking of well-being. First, we develop a theory in which utility depends on "fundamental aspects" of well-being, measurable with surveys. Second, drawing from psychologists, philosophers, and economists, we compile a...