Abstract
The article uses General Social Survey data (GSS) collected by Statistics Canada from 1986 to 2005 and experience sampling
data (ESM) collected in 1985 and 2003 at the University of Waterloo to examine relationships between economic growth, household
income, and subjective sense of well-being. The article puts to a test two propositions made by Easterlin (Nations and households
in economic growth: Essays in Honor of Moses Abramovitz. Academic Press, New York, NY,1974), namely that personal and household incomes correlate positively with subjective well-being, but this does not apply to
the relationship between subjective well-being and societal economic growth. Analyses of GSS data reported in this article
support Easterlin’s findings. They show that higher household incomes correlate positively with respondents’ retrospective
assessments of life satisfaction, but economic growth has not been accompanied by a corresponding rise of subjective well-being.
Analyses of ESM data suggest that when relationships between household income and subjective well-being are measured by “experiential”
measures (Csikszentmihalyi and Larson in J Nerv Ment Dis 175: 526–537, 1987), these relationships are not statistically significant and subjective valuations of well-being taper off at the top of the
income pyramid.
data (ESM) collected in 1985 and 2003 at the University of Waterloo to examine relationships between economic growth, household
income, and subjective sense of well-being. The article puts to a test two propositions made by Easterlin (Nations and households
in economic growth: Essays in Honor of Moses Abramovitz. Academic Press, New York, NY,1974), namely that personal and household incomes correlate positively with subjective well-being, but this does not apply to
the relationship between subjective well-being and societal economic growth. Analyses of GSS data reported in this article
support Easterlin’s findings. They show that higher household incomes correlate positively with respondents’ retrospective
assessments of life satisfaction, but economic growth has not been accompanied by a corresponding rise of subjective well-being.
Analyses of ESM data suggest that when relationships between household income and subjective well-being are measured by “experiential”
measures (Csikszentmihalyi and Larson in J Nerv Ment Dis 175: 526–537, 1987), these relationships are not statistically significant and subjective valuations of well-being taper off at the top of the
income pyramid.
- Content Type Journal Article
- Category Research Paper
- Pages 1-21
- DOI 10.1007/s10902-012-9356-0
- Authors
- Jiri Zuzanek, Faculty of Applied Health Sciences, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, ON N2L 3G1, Canada
- Journal Journal of Happiness Studies
- Online ISSN 1573-7780
- Print ISSN 1389-4978