"Easterlin or Cantril: Does a Country’s Income Determine its People’s H" by Jon Heinzman

Article Title

Easterlin or Cantril: Does a Country’s Income Determine its People’s Happiness?

Authors

Jon Heinzman, University of Northern Iowa

Document Type

Article

Abstract

. Is high-income one way to achieve happiness? The first two researchers to investigate the question empirically looked at individual countries over time. One researcher found a positive relationship between income and happiness; the other did not. Subsequent researchers have found support for both views. This paper summarizes and critiques the arguments, finding that the answer may lie in genetics and spending habits. Although some people may be genetically predisposed to happiness, ignoring social comparisons and hedonic adaption may help one lead a happier life.

Publication Date

Spring 2015

Journal Title

Major Themes in Economics

Volume

Issue

First Page

Last Page

Copyright

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 International License.

Language

File Format

application/pdf

Recommended Citation

Heinzman, Jon (2015) "Easterlin or Cantril: Does a Country’s Income Determine its People’s Happiness?," Major Themes in Economics, 17, 17-36.
Available at: https://scholarworks.uni.edu/mtie/vol17/iss1/4