Life Satisfaction and Economic Position Relative to Neighbors: Perceptions Versus Reality

Bhuiyan, Muhammad Faress

doi:10.1007/s10902-017-9904-8

Cited by 8 publications

(5 citation statements)

References 43 publications

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“…There is no effect when the comparison is made against a member of the person's network. However, Carlsson et al (2008); Knight et al (2009); Kingdon and Knight (2007); Davis and Wu (2014) and Bhuiyan (2018) show that positional concerns increase when the reference group is part of the same ethnic group or region as the person. These results imply that for the analysis of regional differences in positional mobility, the relevant reference group from the point of view of the observation unit is the regional distribution of the outcome variable, not the national one.…”

Section: Positional Concerns: the Microeconomics Of Positional Mobilitymentioning

confidence: 99%

The importance of positional mobility for regional comparisons

Monroy-Gómez-Franco¹

2022

Preprint

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In this paper, I show how the decomposition of intergenerational persistence indicators into their structural and positional components allows to gain a better understanding of the determinants of the heterogeneity in intergenerational mobility at the subnational level. The crucial element for the separate analysis of positional and structural mobility is the use of regionally defined instead of nationally defined quantiles. This constitutes a departure of the current consensus in the estimations of mobility rates at the subnational level in economics. Using the Mexican case as an example, I show that in terms of positional mobility, there are no significant differences across the regions of the country. This contrast with the existing results and their interpretations, particularly regarding intergenerational mobility in the south region of the country. This highlights the importance of incorporating positional measures into the battery of tools used for intranational analysis.

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Section: Positional Concerns: the Microeconomics Of Positional Mobilitymentioning

confidence: 99%

The importance of positional mobility for regional comparisons

Monroy-Gómez-Franco¹

2022

Preprint

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“…Hedonic psychologists and happiness economics have demonstrated extensively the effect of relative status on affect and hedonic life satisfaction. The extent to which people evaluate their lives as comfortable is determined in part, for most people at least, by their neighbours (Brown et al 2008, Bhuiyan 2018, Clark and Senik 2014b. This is one origin of the ubiquitous phenomenon of "keeping up with the Joneses".…”

Section: Relative Status and Reference Group Effectsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Alongside homeostasis, adaptation is conjectured to be driven by 2 forces: changing reference points and the hedonic treadmill (Layard 2005). Relative status effects, especially those associated with where in a particular ranking an individual sits, have been shown to exert a strong effect on people's satisfaction with their circumstances (Frijters and Mujcic 2013, Boyce et al 2010, Brown et al 2008, Bhuiyan 2018. One might think that an improvement in objective life circumstances would result in an improvement in SWB.…”

Section: Reference Points Focusing Illusions and Loss Aversionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A Theory of Subjective Wellbeing

Fabian¹

2022

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The study of “subjective wellbeing” has seen explosive growth in recent decades, opening important new discourses in personality and social psychology, happiness economics, and moral philosophy. Now it is moving into the policy domain. In this it has arguably overstepped its limits. The shallow theoretical base of subjective wellbeing research, the limitations of its measurement instruments, and its ethical naivety make policymaking on the basis of its findings a risky venture. The present volume is an attempt to shore up these weaknesses and set subjective wellbeing scholarship on a course for several more decades of growth and maturation. It presents a theory of subjective wellbeing in two parts. The first is the subjective wellbeing production function—a model of wellbeing as outcome. The second is the coalescence of being—a model of the self-actualization process by which wellbeing is achieved. This two-part model integrates ideas from subjective wellbeing studies with complementary ideas in analytical and continental philosophy, clinical, moral, and developmental psychology, and welfare economics. Importantly, this theory is ethically sensitive, bridging the gap between the philosophical and psychological perspectives on wellbeing in a way that illuminates the complexities facing the application of subjective wellbeing in public policy. The book also provides a thorough review of various ways in which subjective wellbeing can be studied empirically, and the hard trade-offs we face between long surveys that capture the richness of the concept and the parsimony required by social surveys and policy analysis.

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“…There is a long literature in the social sciences about interpersonal comparisons and aspirations that supports this possibility (e.g. Duesenberry, 1949;Frank, 1985;Easterlin, 2001;Luttmer, 2005;Stutzer, 2004;Bhuiyan, 2017). In terms of internal reference points, the borrowers may be overly optimistic about their future living standards when taking the microcredit loan.…”

Section: Microcredit and Overall Life Satisfaction: A Unified Modelmentioning

confidence: 99%