choosing the optimal reference standard people pursue goals of self-improvement and self-enhancement. Our model predicts that … together with a review of various important findings from social perception studies (minimum income, happiness, subjective …

This paper develops a formal economic theory to explain the Easterlin paradox-average happiness levels do not … promoting people's happiness, and provides a foundation for studying happiness from the perspectives of social welfare … paradox appears depends on the level of non-income factors. Happiness rises with income only up to a critical point that is …

Based on three large panel surveys, this paper shows that happiness gaps between spouses are a good predictor of future … divorce. The effect of happiness gaps is asymmetric: couples are more likely to break-up when the woman is the less happy … asymmetry suggests that the effect of happiness gaps is grounded on motives of relative deprivation (i.e. comparisons of …

This study estimates the impact of education on self-reported happiness across 50 American states using the recently …

-reported happiness. Reference group income negatively relates to own happiness and high perceptions about own relative income, quality of … dwelling, and social class relate positively and very significantly to happiness. Perceptions about income and status matter …

-reported happiness. Why these characteristics matter has been less examined. Scholars have recently demonstrated that part of the effect … role of relative comparison in the study of happiness has been limited to income. The current work extends this focus to … their cohort, influences their happiness. The findings suggest that happiness is positively correlated with their own sexual …