What Do Happiness Data Mean? Theory and Survey Evidence

Journal of the European Economic Association

62 Pages Posted: 18 Feb 2021 Last revised: 5 Apr 2023

See all articles by Daniel J. Benjamin

Daniel J. Benjamin

USC, Center for Economic and Social Research (CESR); Anderson School of Management; National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER); Human Genetics Department, David Geffen School of Medicine

Jakina Debnam Guzman

Amherst College

Ori Heffetz

Cornell University - S.C. Johnson Graduate School of Management; The Hebrew University of Jerusalem - Department of Economics and Center for Rationality; National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER)

Marc Fleurbaey

Paris School of Economics

Miles S. Kimball

University of Colorado Boulder; University of Michigan at Ann Arbor - Department of Economics; Center for Economic and Social Research, USC; National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER)

Date Written: November 23, 2022

Abstract

What utility notion—e.g., flow/lifetime, self/family-centered—do self-reported well-being (SWB) questions measure? Existing applications make different assumptions regarding the (i) life domains, (ii) time horizons, and (iii) other-regarding preferences captured by SWB data. To obtain relevant evidence, we ask survey respondents what they had in mind regarding (i)–(iii) when answering commonly used—life satisfaction, happiness, ladder—and new SWB questions. We find that respondents’ self-reports differ from researchers’ assumptions, and differ across SWB questions and sociodemographic groups. At the same time, simple SWB-question wording tweaks are effective in moving self-reports towards desired interpretations. We outline actionable suggestions for SWB researchers.

Keywords: happiness, life satisfaction, subjective well-being, survey questions

JEL Classification: D69, D90, I31

Suggested Citation

Benjamin, Daniel J. and Benjamin, Daniel J. and Debnam Guzman, Jakina and Heffetz, Ori and Fleurbaey, Marc and Kimball, Miles S., What Do Happiness Data Mean? Theory and Survey Evidence (November 23, 2022). Journal of the European Economic Association, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3776018 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3776018

Daniel J. Benjamin

Anderson School of Management ( email )

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Jakina Debnam Guzman

Amherst College ( email )

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HOME PAGE: http://www.jakinaguzman.com

Ori Heffetz (Contact Author)

Cornell University - S.C. Johnson Graduate School of Management ( email )

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The Hebrew University of Jerusalem - Department of Economics and Center for Rationality

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National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER)

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HOME PAGE: http://www.nber.org/~heffetz

Marc Fleurbaey

Paris School of Economics ( email )

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Miles S. Kimball

University of Colorado Boulder ( email )

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HOME PAGE: http://www.colorado.edu/Economics/people/faculty/kimball.html

University of Michigan at Ann Arbor - Department of Economics ( email )

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National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER)

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