There is increasing interest in the ‘‘economics of happiness’’, reflected by the number of articles
that are appearing in mainstream economics journals that consider subjective well-being (SWB) and
its determinants. This paper provides a detailed review of this literature. It focuses on papers that
have been published in economics journals since 1990, as well as some key reviews in psychology
and important unpublished working papers. The evidence suggests that poor health, separation,
unemployment and lack of social contact are all strongly negatively associated with SWB. However,
the review highlights a range of problems in drawing firm conclusions about the causes of SWB;
these include some contradictory evidence, concerns over the impact on the findings of potentially
unobserved variables and the lack of certainty on the direction of causality. We should be able to
address some of these problems as more panel data become available.
There is increasing interest in the ‘‘economics of happiness’’, reflected by the number of articlesthat are appearing in mainstream economics journals that consider subjective well-being (SWB) andits determinants. This paper provides a detailed review of this literature. It focuses on papers thathave been published in economics journals since 1990, as well as some key reviews in psychologyand important unpublished working papers. The evidence suggests that poor health, separation,unemployment and lack of social contact are all strongly negatively associated with SWB. However,the review highlights a range of problems in drawing firm conclusions about the causes of SWB;these include some contradictory evidence, concerns over the impact on the findings of potentiallyunobserved variables and the lack of certainty on the direction of causality. We should be able toaddress some of these problems as more panel data become available.
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