Seminar: Andrew Oswald, University of Warwick.

Title: Human Happiness: An Introduction for Economists and Social Scientists.

Abstract:

A huge research literature, across the behavioral and social sciences, uses information on individuals’ subjective well-being. These are responses to questions -- asked by survey Inter-viewers or medical personnel -- such as “how happy do you feel on a scale from 1 to 4?”

Yet there is little scientific evidence that such data are meaningful. This study examines a 2005-2008 Beha-vioral Risk Factor Surveillance System random sample of 1.3 million United States citizens. Life satisfac-tion in each U.S. state is measured. Across America, people’s answers

trace out the same pattern of quality of life as previously estimated, using solely non-subjective data, in a literature from economics (so-called ‘compensating differentials’ neoclassical theory due originally to Adam Smith). There is a state-by-state match (r = 0.6, p < 0.001) between

subjective and objective well-being. This result also has some potential to help to unify disciplines.