We revisit the famous Easterlin paradox by considering that life evaluation scales refer to a changing context, hence they are regularly reinterpreted. We propose a simple model of rescaling based on both retrospective and current life evaluations, and apply it to unexploited archival data from...

We review the evolution of the concept of utility in economics, addressing the conceptual and terminological fragmentation that characterises the interdisciplinary debate. This study adopts the scoping review framework to systematically analyse the main theoretical approaches, ranging from...

Economics is a human activity. An understanding of such activity, therefore, cannot be achieved without an effort to understand the human person. As Bruni and Zamagni have affirmed, in their Dizionario di Economia Civile, social scientists and economists must take into account intersubjectivity...

One of the beautiful things about football is that it brings people from all over the world together to share their love of the game. The aim of this paper is to examine the effect of football on happiness using the number of points a country has in FIFA. To achieve this, we specify and estimate...

Since 1972, the General Social Survey has periodically asked whether people are happy with Yes, Maybe or No type answers. Here I use a net "happiness" measure, which is percentage Yes less percentage No with Maybe treated as zero. Average happiness is around +20 on this scale for all respondents...

This article uses the well-being valuation (WV) approach to estimate and monetize the well-being impacts of informal care provision on caregivers. Using nationally representative longitudinal data from the UK, the British Household Panel Survey, we address two challenging methodological issues...

Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) represent a significant technological advancement that enhances communication, access to information, and socio-economic interactions. By analysing the impact of ICTs on well-being across nations, this study explores an essential aspect of...

This paper investigates the impact of different varieties of capitalism (VoC) on societal happiness. It begins with a critique of Neoclassical welfare economics which emphasizes Pareto optimality, and it argues for focusing on reported societal happiness. The paper identifies five VoC. Using a...

There are conflicting theories about whether individuals like or dislike inequality, or in other words, whether living in an unequal country increases or decreases their subjective well-being. Empirical literature has so far focused on income inequality and has not yet reached a consensus. In...

While price premiums incentivise farmers to engage in organic farming, these premiums are frequently insufficient to compensate for lower yields, resulting in no monetary benefits from adopting organic farming. This study goes beyond purely monetary outcomes and investigates how organic farming...

Easterlin and O'Connor (PNAS 2022) have investigated which economic, social, political, and ecological factors explain long-run (36-year) changes in European countries' happiness (life satisfaction). Considering six potential predictors advanced in the pertinent literature, they found only...

Using a high-frequency panel survey, we examine the sensitivity of estimated self-reported well-being (SWB) dynamics to using monthly, quarterly, and yearly data. This is an important issue if SWB is to be used to evaluate policy. Results from autoregressive models that account for...

There is not enough attention paid to the analysis of time allocation in the context of happiness. Perhaps it is because happiness economics is an expanding interdisciplinary field. So, recommendations for self-employed persons in Lithuania how daily time should be effectively allocated for life...

This article examines the effect of leader longevity in power on world happiness. To make the assessment, a sample composed of 135 countries observed over the period 2006 to 2018 was constituted. The results obtained from OLS estimates show that longevity in power reduces individual happiness....

The COVID-19 pandemic is an example of an immense global failure to curb the spread of a pathogen and save lives. To indirectly protect people against a deadly virus, a population needs to achieve herd immunity, which is attained either through vaccination or prior infection. However, achieving...

We analyze the wellbeing socio-economic characteristics of Ukrainian refugees in Poland and compare them with their co-nationals who remained in Ukraine. Specifically, we identify the determinants of happiness, trust and self-declared health, and the patterns of self-selection into becoming a...

The immigrant (foreign-born) population increased by 32 million in total across 37 European countries from 1990 to 2019. Much of this movement was from east to west. Indeed, both the total and foreign-born populations declined in the former Eastern Bloc over this period. Such demographic shifts...

COVID-19 has badly affected the psychological well-being of people all over the globe, especially in developing countries, due to the loss of jobs, social capital and stress. The present study is also designed to analyze the impact of government quality on subjective well-being (SWB) after the...

Financial inclusion facilitates the exchange of information, reduces transaction costs, and lowers the barriers to the access of financial services. However, how this affects happiness remains unknown. The purpose of this study is to make bibliometric analysis between financial inclusion and...

This paper investigates the effects of induced emotions on leading-by example. Using an online sample of more than 1,000 participants, we observe behavior in a one-shot sequential voluntary contribution mechanism game where leaders and followers are induced to be either happy or angry. Our...

This research looks into the relationship between happiness and foreign direct investment (FDI) in African countries so as to shed light on whether or not the inward FDI stock in African countries has an influence on happiness in the region. The study utilises annual panel data from 2006 to 2022...

A growing literature in economics uses subjective well-being data collected in surveys as a proxy for utility. Environmental economists have combined these data with the public goods experienced by respondents using a novel non-market valuation approach: the experienced preference approach. In...

Can questions about life satisfaction be used to measure parental preferences for daughters versus sons? Daughter preference has rarely been documented in the literature, even in matrilineal settings. One possible reason is that the commonly used measures of parental gender preference, such as...

Generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) is increasingly recognized as a transformative technology that is reshaping organizational processes, individual work practices, and workplace interactions. While its benefits for efficiency and productivity are widely acknowledged, its impact on...

This article examines the impact of the Yemeni civil war on subjective well-being (SWB). Analyzing the relationship between regional war intensity and SWB for the period 2015-2023, while accounting for personal characteristics and regional fixed effects, we find a significant negative...