This investigation uses a subjective well-being approach to provide a novel empirical answer to an old normative debate in economic literature: whether consumers use efficiently their income. Based on a large database from Mexico, the paper shows that there exists substantial X-inefficiency in...

The estimation of equivalence scales is crucial in cases where a well-being comparison of persons living under different household arrangements is needed: for example, to identify the poor, to calculate poverty rates and to estimate income inequality. In spite of the importance of equivalence...

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to use a subjective well-being approach to address a long-standing debate on informal employment: whether it is a low-quality or a high-quality option. The literature generally refers to these options as exclusion vs exit. Policy makers often assume that...

A subjective well-being approach is followed to assess the magnitude of inefficiency in the use of income. The information comes from a Mexican survey and an X-inefficiency technique is used. The paper shows that there exists substantial inefficiency in t

This investigation studies the relationship between regulatory regimes and electric industrys performance. It follows closely the work of Steiner (2001). However, the investigation breaks with the traditional assumptions of linearity and universality in the relationship between regulatory reform...

This paper presents a survey on the Economics of Happiness; special attention is placed on recent research about the relationship between income and happiness. The paper discusses the epistemological and methodological foundations of the Economics of Happiness. It starts by mentioning the two...