We study the effects of Massachusetts' healthcare reform on individuals' subjective well-being. Using data from the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System, we find that the reform significantly improved Massachusetts residents' overall life-satisfaction. This result is robust to various...

This study analyzes the effects of the 2014 Affordable Care Act (ACA) Medicaid expansion on the subjective well-being of individuals in the United States. Using data from the Panel Study of Income Dynamics, we find that the expansion has significantly improved the overall life satisfaction of...

A high level of public services in housing, transport, education and health care is essential for liveability in urban centres, as shown in this report, with the help of European data for large cities. Inhabitants of larger cities, where the housing market is heavily commercialised in terms of...

This paper identifies and quantifies the contribution of a set of covariates in affecting levels and over time changes of happiness inequality. Using a decomposition methodology based on RIF regression, we analyse the increase in happiness inequality observed in Germany between 1992 and 2007,...

A three‐equation model is used to estimate the multiple effects of antiretroviral medications (ARVs) on the quality of life (QoL) of the elderly with HIV in New York City. The transmission mechanism involves the ARVs having a direct effect on QoL via the side effects of the medications and two...

After having been ignored for a long time by economists, happiness is becoming an object of serious research in 21st century economics. In Section 2 we sketch the present status of happiness economics. In Section 3 we consider the practical applicability of happiness economics, retaining the...

After having been ignored for a long time by economists, happiness is becoming an object of serious research in 21st century economics. In Section 2 we sketch the present status of happiness economics. In Section 3 we consider the practical applicability of happiness economics, retaining the...

Earmarked paternity leave has been introduced in an attempt to increase fathers involvement in child rearing and to achieve gender equality in the labor market and at home. So far well-being effects of such policies are unexplored. This paper takes a first step in that direction by studying the...

This paper explores the legitimacy of patent law. It presents two detailed case studies to demonstrate how the European Patent Office's practice Examination Guidelines transform contested inventive matter and methods into arguable patent claims. The analysis makes the broader conceptual point...

The Origins of Happiness makes some valuable contributions to the subjective well-being literature. Of particular note is its emphasis on mental health and criminality, and its use of a life course approach. However, the objective of the book is to explicate the causes of well-being in general...