Happiness research is a new, rapidly growing and provocative aspect of economic science. In fact, there are now over 1,800 published papers on the subject, and it might be said that the ‘dismal science’ has come to be obsessed with happiness. This research provides a number of interesting...

This paper explores the potential of using subjective well-being (SWB) data to valueenvironmental attributes. A theoretical framework compares this method, also known as the lifesatisfaction approach, with the standard hedonic pricing approach, identifying their similarities and differences. As...

The first chapter demonstrates that although it is possible to design utility functions that behave like empirical well-being, the functional forms relying on income adaptation and social comparisons put forward in the happiness literature fail to receive empirical validation. Under the income...

Research appears to demonstrate that economic variables are only marginally predictive of levels of social satisfaction. It was hypothesised that a greater association might be found between satisfaction and equality of income distribution rather than between satisfaction and size of income. The...

Die ?konomisch-empirische Zufriedenheitsforschung ist ein noch relativ junger Zweig der empirischen Wirtschaftsforschung, der Befragungsdaten zur individuellen, subjektiv empfundenen Zufriedenheit analysiert. Erste empirische Evidenz auf diesem Gebiet l?sst dabei Zweifel an der Pr?misse der...

This dissertation inquires into the relationship between income, aspirations, and life satisfaction in post-transition Russia. It first explores the channels through which adaptation and social comparison contribute to higher income aspirations. The results show that social comparison is a...

The ability of households to diversify their income sources is strongly related to their capacity to cope in times of pressure, such as during economic crises. This is particularly so among the poor, who often do not have adequate resources on which to draw when under such pressures. Households...

Econometric analyses of European datasets suggest that income aspirations increase with current income. This finding is consistent with the adaptation hypothesis –the notion that individual aspirations adjust to reflect personal circumstances and living conditions. We add to these existing...