An old paradox lives on
Aristotle to the Beatles have argued that money does not buy happiness. But it seems to help. Since 2005 Gallup, a pollster, has asked a representative sample of adults from countries across the world to rate their life satisfaction on a scale from zero to ten. The headline result is clear: the richer the country, on average, the higher the level of self-reported happiness. The simple correlation suggests that doubling GDP per person lifts life satisfaction by about 0.7 points.
Yet the prediction that as a country gets richer its mood will improve has a dubious record. In 1974 Richard Easterlin, an economist, discovered that average life satisfaction in America had stagnated between 1946 and 1970 even as GDP per person had grown by 65% over the same period. He went on to find a similar disconnect in other places, too.
The “Easterlin paradox” has been hotly disputed since, with some economists claiming to find a link between growth and rising happiness by using better quality data. On March 20th the latest Gallup data were presented in the, an annual UN-backed study. The new data provide some ammunition for both sides of the debate but, on the whole, suggest that the paradox is alive and well.
There are important examples of national income and happiness rising and falling together. The most significant—in terms of population—is China, where GDP per person has doubled over a decade, while average happiness has risen by 0.43 points. Among rich countries Germany enjoys higher incomes and greater cheer than ten years ago. Venezuela, once the fifth-happiest country in the world, has become miserable as its economy has collapsed.
Yet that correlation is very weak. Of the 125 countries for which good data exist, 43 have seen GDP per person and happiness move in opposite directions. Like China, India is a populous developing economy that is growing quickly. But happiness is down by about 1.2 points in the past decade. America, the subject of Easterlin’s initial study, has again seen happiness fall as the economy has grown.
United States Latest News, United States Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Japan may cut economic view as China slowdown hits growth: NikkeiJapan's government is considering a slight downgrade to its assessment of t...
Read more »
WSJ Survey: Economists Cut Forecasts for Jobs and Economic Growth in Early 2019Economists sharply lowered their forecasts for employment and economic growth in the first quarter in a new Wall Street Journal survey, after recent government data suggested the U.S. economy is cooling.
Read more »
German economic advisors slash 2019 growth forecast to 0.8 percentA panel of advisers to the German government slashed its growth forecast for thi...
Read more »
Better economic data needed before Wall Street can rise back to all-time highsStocks kicked off 2019 with a bang, but markets will need improving economic data to make a run at last year's records.
Read more »
Stocks rise modestly as investors parse conflicting economic data and China trade headlinesStocks are rising Friday as investors attempt to shake of concerns about slowing global growth. Moves for stocks in Friday’s session come amid quadruple...
Read more »
Dow rises 200 points on China trade, global growth optimismStocks are rising Friday as investors attempt to shake of concerns about slowing global growth. Moves for stocks in Friday’s session come amid quadruple...
Read more »
Book: Trump letter firing Comey accidentally went to economic aide, not top lawyerPresident Trump's letter firing former FBI Director James Comey was sent to the wrong printer and accidentally went to then-White House Economic adviser Gary Cohn instead of a top lawyer, a new book says
Read more »
Trump says he does not see white nationalism rising after New Zealand mosque shootingU.S. President Donald Trump said on Friday he does not see a rise in white nationalism but it may be an issue in New Zealand, where a gunman who is believed to espouse those views killed 49 people at two mosques.
Read more »
Trump says he does not think white nationalism is a rising global threat“I don’t really,” President Trump said after being questioned about whether he views white nationalism as a rising global threat. “I think it’s a small group of people that have very, very serious problems, I guess.”
Read more »