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
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: Suggested Citation