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ERIC Number: EJ749111
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2005-Dec
Pages: 15
Abstractor: Author
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0303-8300
EISSN: N/A
Available Date: N/A
Feeding the Illusion of Growth and Happiness: A Reply to Hagerty and Veenhoven
Easterlin, Richard A.
Social Indicators Research, v74 n3 p429-443 Dec 2005
In a rebuttal of Easterlin (1995), Hagerty and Veenhoven (2003) analyze data for 21 countries and conclude that "growing national income does go with greater happiness." But the U.S. experience does not support this conclusion, which they obtain only by mixing together two sets of noncomparable surveys. Moreover, the result of studies of European countries and the U.S. by other scholars do not support their claim either. Furthermore, the experience of 6 out of 7 of their non-European countries fail to support their claim. Finally, if countries in their analysis with quite similar growth rates are grouped, one finds quite disparate trends in happiness, suggesting that factors other than growth in income are responsible for the differential trends in happiness. Instead of straining to feed the illusion that a focus on economic growth will create happiness, an approach is needed that explores the impact on national trends in life satisfaction, not just of material goods, but also of family life, health, work utility, and the like.
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Opinion Papers
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A
Author Affiliations: N/A