...Subjective Well‐Being and Income: Is There Any Evidence of Satiation?* Betsey Stevenson The Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy, University of Michigan & CESifo and NBER betseys@umich.edu www.nber.org/~bstevens Justin Wolfers Department of Economics & The Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy, University of Michigan & Brookings, CAMA, CEPR, CESifo, IZA and NBER jwolfers@umich.edu www.nber.org/~jwolfers ABSTRACT Many scholars have argued that once “basic needs” have been met, higher income is no longer associated with higher in subjective well-being. We assess the validity of this claim in comparisons of both rich and poor countries, and also of rich and poor people within a country. Analyzing multiple datasets, multiple definitions of “basic needs” and multiple questions about well-being, we find no support for this claim. The relationship between well-being and income is roughly linear-log and does not diminish as incomes rise. If there is a satiation point, we are yet to reach it. This draft: Keywords: JEL codes: April 16, 2013 Subjective well-being, happiness, satiation, basic needs, Easterlin paradox. D6, I3, N3, O1, O4 * A shorter version of this paper will appear in the American Economic Review, Papers and Proceedings in May 2013. The authors wish to thank Angus Deaton, Daniel Kahneman, and Alan Krueger for useful discussions and The Gallup Organization, where Wolfers serves as a Senior Scientist, for providing data. The views expressed herein...
Words: 2346 - Pages: 10
...through the third world countries, where most people are not being educated or given the option of contraceptives due to cultural reasons. With the rate of the human population growing, the risks of human going through starvation and illnesses due to environmental issues increase every day. Environmental risks due to the depletion of forests, fresh water, fossil fuels, and land that all consumed by humans. Overpopulation might not seem as a serious issue to people that disagrees about human overpopulating the Earth has causes major damage and tragedy around the world, but because of overpopulation, we are a step closer to turmoil. Traditionally, human population increases because people are eager to pass on genes and or last names to the next generations; especially those people that in countries that in extremely poor conditions follows those traditions. Mary Ellen Harte, a journalist from the Los Angeles Times mentions about how females are “culturally conditioned daily to welcome the idea of having children – plural, not one or none” (Harte). Many women whether being under cultural influence or not, lack the idea on how to support those children. Another journalist from the Los Angeles Times brings attention to those women that lives in the third world countries like Manila, Philippines, where women like Yolanda Naz has search through trash hills to find valuable items that she can sell or trade for small shampoo packets which eventually are being sold to neighbors for a...
Words: 2454 - Pages: 10
...the future no one will kill anyone else, the earth will beam with radiance, the human race will love. The day will come when all will be concord, harmony, light, joy and life.” VICTOR HUGO Les Miserable COSMIC The Milky Way. The group of sum four hundred billion stars orbiting a galactic centre and of those four hundred billion stars, the one orbiting star that is closest to us is the sun. Planets orbit around this sun and one of these planets is our Earth. So then out of this Earth of ours, have come fauna and flora and bacteria. Out of this world have come we, as the eyes, and the ears, and the consciousness and the breathing of the Earth itself, as its children. We all come from the same galaxy the same nebula the same universe and so we reach the point, why do we see opposites and one another? We all exist in the same atmosphere. Why then do we separate and distinguish? We are Earthling, so, we are human, animal, tree, not the same but equal. The creatures that which we are concerned namely us were not so long ago, noisy, quarrelsome, clever, tool using, with prolonged childhoods and tender regard for their young. Their descendants had multiplied all over the planet, killed off all their rivals, devised world transforming technologies and posed a mortal danger to themselves and to many other beings with whom they shared their small home. It is a common trait we primitive organisms seem to share the weakness for territoriality. Due to this territoriality we also, stream...
Words: 1999 - Pages: 8
...hybridity, mimicry, difference, and ambivalence. These concepts describe ways in which the colonized people have resisted the power of the colonizers. As David Huddart claimed in his book, because “its histories and cultures constantly intrude on the present”(Huddart,2006:1), being considering the present situation, for example, violently proclaimed cultural difference is combined paradoxically; the globalization has complexly interconnected networks, colonialism could not be understood as something only existed in the past. When people attempts to understand it, Homi Bhabha suggests that transformation of the understanding of cross-cultural relations is demanded. Some Honi Bhabha’s writing on, for example, colonialism, race, identity and difference, are collected into the volume The Location of Culture. This essay will focus on several issues that Bhabha has mentioned in his book. At the very beginning of the introduction of The Location of Culture, Bhabha says “It is the trope of our times to locate the question of culture in the realm of the beyond” (Bhabha, 1994:1). So, what does beyond mean? “The beyond is neither a new horizon, nor a leaving behind of the past” (Bhabha, 1994:l). But in the beyond, “there is a sense of disorientation, a disturbance of direction” (Bhabha, 1994:1). Bhabha points out that, people nowadays find out that they are in the moment of transit, and during the transition, when time and space cross, complex figures of difference and identity, past...
Words: 1994 - Pages: 8
...Beginning in 1990, the UN began identifying ways to improve human life around the world. Then, in 2000, at the Millennium Summit the UN developed a proposal grouped into eight specific goals titled “We the Peoples: The Role of the United Nations in the Twenty-First Century” by then UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan. The declaration asserts that people have innate rights as human beings that should be met regardless of nationality, income, education, or ability. The following is an outline of the eight goals and their importance in achieving those rights to all people. Goal one is to eradicate extreme poverty and hunger. In this goal, the most basic of human needs is addressed in the form of food and shelter. Considering the desire to elevate people in various countries to a higher standard of living is met by addressing people who live on less than $1.25 per day. Also, employment centers have been developed to help people find jobs and work in underdeveloped countries. This is very important to achieve because many who intend to not fall into sickness and poverty must have this base need met in order to progress. Goal two states the move to achieving “universal education”. In this goal, attempts to improve the level of education among the poor. Education breeds skills and confidence, and without education jobs are hard to achieve. In the poorer areas, there aren’t even schools to go to whether people wanted to or not. And education is viewed as optional to those...
Words: 1015 - Pages: 5
...Paul Farmer and Health Care Paul Farmer is an American anthropologist and physician and also the main character of Tracy Kidders book Mountains Beyond Mountains, a book telling the true story of Farmer’s life and passion of treating people with infectious diseases. In the story Farmer strives to treat people in Haiti from mainly tuberculosis and other diseases, he has a dream of creating a better life for these people and to create a more universal health care system for those who cannot afford the necessary treatment that is needed to overall keep these people alive. Tracy Kidder in his book appears to take the side of Farmer, painting a picture to the reader of a man who has done only good in his life and seems to care more for others wellbeing than himself, “I can't sleep. There's always somebody not getting treatment.” (Paul Farmer, 24). It is obvious Farmer cares for others but you are only shown and told view points from those who have received his generous care and much of his gifts. At times throughout the book Farmer seems to express his anger at companies here in America claiming that recourses that we have should be put to better use around the world and not fought over due to money and who can pay for what. The market system to him is a serious problem that is cause many people around the world to receive no treatment and all and eventually causing preventable deaths in areas of serious poverty. His health care idea can seem radical at times, some of his ideas...
Words: 2202 - Pages: 9
...Movie Review and Analysis Paper Kaitlin McFarland Sociology 201-001 Mrs. Cole July 28, 2015 Abstract As you review this paper, you will find an overview of the movie “Nefarious: Merchant of Souls” with specifics on the issues that were presented from a wide variety of sources and countries. You will also find explanations about the various social problems that were highlighted in the movie, and I will give you insight into my personal opinions about the movie and how it affected me and impacted my outlook on the subjects presented in the movie. Movie Review During our class time, we reviewed an inspirational movie called “Nefarious: Merchant of Souls.” This film is a documentary of modern day sex trafficking and slavery. Though out the movie the movie producers and directors travel to 19 countries that are centers for major sex trafficking including, Cambodia, Thailand, Moldova, Las Vegas and Amsterdam’s Red Light District with most of the women being sold coming from the Eastern European areas. This documentary goes beyond the black and white facts about the sex trafficking industry and how it works. They go beyond the factor of just poverty and how it meshes with prostitution and sex trafficking; it informs the audience of the law in different areas of the world. For example, prostitution is a legal act in Amsterdam. During the film the movie producers and directors take a trip down the Red Light District and film many girls standing in windows making...
Words: 1203 - Pages: 5
...Understanding the Impacts of the EU Framework Program of Research and Technological Development On the basis of Stratospheric Ozone Research "1 1) Evaluation of Framework Program Amsterdam Treaty obligated EU to implement some European research program and policies in order to not fall beyond the world’ powerful countries such as United States or Japan. Because of this obligation also involved a chapter on research and technological development, Framework Program of Research and Technological Development was established at early 80s. The main reasons of Framework Program focus on carrying European Union to the world standards in the basis of research and development and make EU to be able to compete with other countries on R&D areas, notably in energy and Information Technology. Even so Framework Program had been started as one of the supportive program of R&D, day by day it has become to be one of the most powerful and important component of EU policy. In connection with EU’s desire on becoming as one body, EU had to develop a way to be better at research and development areas than nation states. Nation states were already making investment on R&D therefore there was no need to depend on EU and this point of view was conflicting with EU’s. Therefore to avoid and block the diversification between member states and EU, EU has started to invest on Framework Program more and more by the time of progress and this made Framework Program sustainable and successful...
Words: 1705 - Pages: 7
...Difference people do difference things but have the same goal. That is to improve standard of living or human well-being for instead. So we need an index to indicate what we have achieved, what is the limitation that needs to be adjusted to orient the growth trend that makes the life better in the future. To meet up with this expectation, Gross Domestic Product (GDP for short) has been used as a method of evaluating the human well-being for a long time all over the world. But with the introduction of Human Development Report in 1990, the Human Development Index (HDI) has attracted great attention of policy and academic circles, as well as broader community around the world. This appearance also helps raising the question: Is GDP still an adequate measure of societal well-being and should it be replaced by HDI? This question has attracted a lot of people and cause a controversy among them. So let’s have a look at that matter of argument. As you know the standard well-being varies from time to time, from place to place so we should at first understand: What is well-being? In general, well-being is the pursuit and fulfillment of personal aspirations and the development and exercise of human capabilities, within a context of mutual recognition, equality and interdependence. To make it more detailed here are some key criteria that we should include to valuate well-being: Material living standards (income, consumption and wealth); Health; Education; Personal activities including work;...
Words: 1727 - Pages: 7
...mentions in his speech that it is not perfect either when he states, “Freedom has many difficulties and democracy is not perfect, but we have never had to put a wall up to keep our people in, to prevent them from leaving us” (Kennedy). This can been seen as validation for the people of West Berlin because they have been living with a wall that seperates their country for eighteen years. They see how the people of the United States live in our democracy and they do not see a wall dividing people. What they really see is a nation that is working together to be the best they can be. This in return gives them hope for their future as a free people. Mr. Kennedy does an outstanding job of persuading the people of Berlin to keep fighting because what they will see in the final outcome of their struggle will far exceed those recent trialing times. He does this by sincerely telling the people, “When all are free, then we can look forward to that day when this city will be joined as one and this country and this great Continent of Europe in a peaceful and hopeful globe” (Kennedy). When that is achieved then the people of Berlin and the country of Germany will be...
Words: 1116 - Pages: 5
...enough he had gathered enough knowledge to start his own business. 3) Understand the marketplace and your customers. Remain flexible and objective. Pham refocused his company to where quality control and service went far beyond what was expected. P.8: 1) What is the difference between revenue and profit? Revenue is the total amount of money a business takes in during a given period by selling goods and services. Profit is the amount of money a business earns above and beyond what it spends for salaries and other expenses needed to run the operation. Simply put revenues minus expenses equals profit. 2) What is the difference between standard of living and quality of life? Standard of living refers to the amount of goods and services people can buy with the money they have. Quality of life refers to the general well-being of a society in terms of its political freedom, natural environment, education, health care, safety, amount of leisure, and rewards that add to the satisfaction and joy that other goods and services provide. Quality of life requires the combined efforts of businesses, non-profit organizations, and government agencies. The more money created, the greater the potential to improve the quality of life for everyone. 3) What is risk and how is it related to profit? Risk is the chance that an entrepreneur takes of losing time and money on a business that may not prove profitable. Risk is related to profit in...
Words: 691 - Pages: 3
...human development and daily life. Technology has advanced quickly, from bioengineered skin to genomics, which is the custom building of DNA or RNA strands. Humans need to be able to understand the pros and cons of technology taking over our lives as well as our bodies. There are both benefits and complications with bioengineering and singularity, and both are taken with precise consideration by scientists. Benefits of biomedical engineering and singularity With medical engineering people are afraid of inserting objects into their bodies but what they don’t realize is the advantages that could happen. There are multiple possible benefits of biomedical engineering and singularities. The main singularity is medical benefits. In Progress Accelerates Exponentially, Kurzweil...
Words: 1265 - Pages: 6
...Religion is Hope Religion, to most people of the world, is the only saving grace in their life, because religion is the equalizer among peoples. Therefore, in the eyes of God, it does not matter if his followers are black, white, destitute, affluent, Christian, or other they are just people to God; now, nonetheless, to receive salvation or not is another matter. In Cry, the Beloved Country, Paton makes it clear that religion is hope. Religion gives the people a sense of salvation, redemption, or purpose, and salvation being the leading factor in Christianity, this is very important. Salvation is the deliverance from sin and consequence, and in the novel, salvation is everything to a person who has nothing. Religion is important to the story, because of Christian values and faith help characters endure their suffering, guide the characters into decent lives, promote hope for the future, and gives the people a purpose. First, for a society like the Africans, who during this era of segregation and oppression suffer significantly, it is important to have a faith in which their suffering is nothing but a trial in this life. For in the Christian faith, God makes it clear that he...
Words: 1040 - Pages: 5
...To be born, grow up and live in a country like Venezuela, where a year before I was born it had been taken under the regime of people who until today would plunge it into an agonizing decadence in all aspects that led it into a profound crisis where corruption and violence is the daily bread, I would say it was the main propeller to make me feel marveled by an industry, as is the fashion industry. An industry with the ability to inspire me without limits and spread ideologies through a piece of fabric, color, silhouette, a campaign, an advertisement, regardless of the environment in which I live my everyday. Fashion, more than the typical “It is a form of art”, for me It is self-expression, self-confidence, self-beauty, It is constant progress...
Words: 928 - Pages: 4
...Almost half of American women get unplanned pregnancy, and 54% of these end in abortion (Finer LB &ump; Zolna MR, 2011). Nearly one fifth of pregnancies end in abortion (Jones RK &ump; Kooistra, K, 2011). The laws on abortion have developed varied in countries since there are different social and moral perceptions due to the different cultures. In Great Britain, only medical professionals are able to provide abortion（rethinking of abortion p13）. While it comes to Northern Ireland and the Irish republic , the law only allow women to get information of abortion and have abortion outside of their states (rethinking of abortion p19).Abortion is always a sensitive topic when it is regarded as killing a person surrounding with social and political discussion. It seems that the debate between anti-abortion and the opponents is increasing heated (BEYOND CHOICE P19).Woman tend to choose illegal abortion when it is unavailable for legal abortion, even it is unsafe with poor conditions and unqualified provider (Berer, M., 2000). Traditionally, laws and medical ethics against abortion for mainly two reasons: first of all, it seems like killing a developing human being as fetus should have a moral and legal right to life. Secondly, it is harmful...
Words: 2346 - Pages: 10
