Some Like It Mild and Not Too Wet: The Influence of Weather on Subjective Well-Being

More and more economists and politicians are advocating the use of comprehensive measures of well-being, on top of the usual
national accounting measures, to assess the welfare of populations. Researchers using subjective well-being data should be
aware of the potential biasing effects of the weather on their estimates. In this paper, the responsiveness of well-being
to climate and transitory weather conditions is investigated by analyzing subjective well-being data collected in the Princeton
Affect and Time Survey. General satisfaction questions about life in general, life at home, health and one’s job, as well
as questions concerning feelings intensities during specific episodes are studied. Women are much more responsive than men
to the weather, and life satisfaction decreases with the amount of rain on the day of the interview. Low temperatures increase
happiness and reduce tiredness and stress, raising net affect, and high temperatures reduce happiness, consistent with the
fact that the survey was conducted in the summer. Methods to reduce the possible biases are suggested in the conclusion.