This paper explores differences in the determinants of long term happiness levels versus those of short term fluctuations. It also departs from the usual analysis of the effects of income on happiness, and explores the effects of happiness on future income. We find, based on panel data for 6500...

This paper focuses on the need to develop social contracts as a means to address the challenge posed by widespread insecurity and extensive inequality. Even the winners in the best performing countries in the region are vulnerable to negative shocks, such as those related to volatility in...

The severe economic crisis facing several countries in the region has led many observers to predict a backlash against market policies and even against democracy in the region. An economic crisis of such proportions should also, in theory, have negative effects on subjective well being. Our...

The effect of inequality on individual welfare remains a debated question in economics. A common explanation for these mixed findings is that in Europe and the U.S., inequality can be a signal of income mobility and opportunity as much as it is a signal of injustice. This paper explores the...

The introduction of the HDI sparked a major debate about the adequacy of income as a measure of development. Perhaps as a result, scholars have developed a number of novel measures of well being. Prominent among these is the use of happiness surveys to study well being in its various dimensions,...

This paper assesses the effects of different health conditions on happiness. Based on a large data set for Latin America, the effects of different conditions are examined across age, gender, and income cohorts. Anxiety and pain have stronger effects than physical problems, likely because people...