Objective confirmation of subjective measures of human well-being: Evidence from the U.S.A

Science

Volumn 327, Issue 5965, 2010, Pages 576-579

  Oswald, Andrew J ^a   Wu, Stephen ^b  

^a UNIVERSITY OF WARWICK   (United Kingdom)

^b HAMILTON COLLEGE   (United States)

Author keywords

[No Author keywords available]

Indexed keywords

HUMAN BEHAVIOR; LITERATURE REVIEW; NEOCLASSICAL THEORY; QUALITY OF LIFE; QUESTIONNAIRE SURVEY; RISK FACTOR;

ARTICLE; BEHAVIORAL SCIENCE; HEALTH CARE POLICY; HEALTH PROGRAM; HEALTH SURVEY; HUMAN; LIFE SATISFACTION; PRIORITY JOURNAL; QUALITY OF LIFE; UNITED STATES; WELLBEING;

ADULT; ECONOMICS; FEMALE; HAPPINESS; HEALTH SURVEYS; HUMANS; INCOME; MALE; MODELS, ECONOMIC; PERSONAL SATISFACTION; QUALITY OF LIFE; QUESTIONNAIRES; REGRESSION ANALYSIS; SOCIOECONOMIC FACTORS; UNITED STATES;

UNITED STATES;

EID: 75749157691     PISSN: 00368075     EISSN: 10959203     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1126/science.1180606     Document Type: Article

References (35)

1. R. A. Easterlin, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 100, 11176 (2003).
2. E. Diener, E. M. Suh, R. E. Lucas, H. L. Smith, Psychol. Bull. 125, 276 (1999).
3. J. H. Fowler, N. A. Christakis, BMJ 337, a2338 (2008).
4. A. J. Oswald, Econ. J. 107, 1815 (1997).
5. Y. Yang, Am. Sociol. Rev. 73, 204 (2008).
6. B. Lopes Cardozo, A. Vergara, F. Agani, C. A. Gotway, JAMA 284, 569 (2000).
7. B. Radcliff, Am. Polit. Sci. Rev. 95, 939 (2001).
8. Y. J. Hu, S. Stewart-Brown, L. Twigg, S. Weich, Psychol. Med. 37, 1005 (2007).
9. E. F. P. Luttmer, Q. J. Econ. 120, 963 (2005).
10. D. Gilbert, Stumbling on Happiness (Knopf, New York, 2006).
11. B. Stevenson, J. Wolters, J. Legal Stud. 37, (S2), S33 (2008).
12. A. E. Clark, J. Labor Econ. 21, 323 (2003).
13. E. W. Dunn, L. B. Aknin, M. I. Norton, Science 319, 1687 (2008).
14. E. Sandvik, E. Diener, L. Seidlitz, J. Pers. Soc. Psychol. 61, 317 (1993).
15. H. L. Urry et al., Psychol. Sci. 15, 367 (2004).
16. A. Steptoe, J. Wardle, Neurobiol. Aging 26 (suppl. 1), 108 (2005).
17. K. Fliessbach et al., Science 318, 1305 (2007).
18. D. G. Blanchflower, A. J. Oswald, J. Health Econ. 27, 218 (2008).
19. Materials and methods are available as supporting material on Science Online.
20. S. D. Barger, C. J. Donoho, H. A. Wayment, Qual. Life Res. 18, 179 (2009).
21. A. J. Oswald, S. Wu, unpublished manuscript, University of Warwick (August 2009);
22. presented at the Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA) Prize Conference, Washington, DC, 22 October 2009;
23. IZA discussion paper 4600 (November 2009) from www.iza.org
24. J. Roback, J. Polit. Econ. 90, 1257 (1982).
25. J. Gyourko, J. Tracy, J. Polit. Econ. 99, 774 (1991).
26. S. A. Gabriel, J. P. Mattey, W. L. Wascher, Reg. Sci. Urban Econ. 33, 619 (2003).
27. M. Moro, F. Brereton, S. Ferreira, J. P. Clinch, Ecol. Econ. 65, 448 (2008).
28. S. Luechinger, Econ. J. 119, 482 (2009).
29. A. Smith, An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations (Univ. of Chicago Press, Chicago, 1776, reprinted 1977).
30. J. Cohen, Statistical Power Analysis for the Behavioral Sciences (Erlbaum, Hillsdale, NJ, ed. 2, 1988).
31. A. B. Krueger, D. A. Schkade, J. Public Econ. 92, 1833 (2008).
32. M. G. Pittau, R. Zelli, A. Gelman, Soc. Indic. Res., published online 28 April 2009 (10.1007/s11205-009-9481-2).
33. A. Gelman, B. Shor, J. Bafumi, D. Park, Q. J. Polit. Sci. 2, 345 (2007).
34. J. Stiglitz et. al., Commission on the Measurement of Economic Performance and Social Progress (Commission of the Government of France, Paris, September 2009); available at www.stiglitz-sen-fitoussi.fr
35. For discussions and detailed points, we thank four referees and P. J. Hammond, M. Kimball, D. Krupka, E. Luttmer, J. Miles, E. Proto, and D. Sgroi. Valuable suggestions were made by D. Benjamin, D. Blanchflower, A. Clark, M. Clements, E. Diener, D. Dorling, D. Gilbert, A. Goodall, C. Graham, O. Heffetz, S. Luechinger, S. Mukherjee, R. Putnam, and J. Smith. The first author's work was supported by a U.K. Economic and Social Research research professorship. No conflicts of interest.