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Why do economists study happiness?

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 January 2023

Marcin Piekałkiewicz
Marcin Piekałkiewicz*
Affiliation:
University of Siena, Italy
*
Marcin Piekałkiewicz, Department of Economics and Statistics, University of Siena, Piazza San Francesco 7, 53100 Siena, Italy. Email: marcin.piekalkiewicz@gmail.com
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Abstract

Recently economists have expressed increasing interest in studying the determinants of happiness. Their main task has been to identify economic and non-economic sources of well-being to define policies aimed at maximising happiness in nations. As yet, it has not been precisely explained why ‘happiness economics’ is actually a part of economic science. In this article, we show that happiness can be an economic concept providing a critical review of the literature on (a) economic applications of happiness data and (b) economic consequences of happiness. Happiness data have been used to analyse microeconomic phenomena and to value non-market goods. Happiness may act as a determinant of economic outcomes: it increases productivity, predicts one’s future income and affects labour market performance. A growing number of happiness studies indicate a role of personality traits in understanding the link between well-being and economic outcomes.

Keywords

C50I31J20J30Happinesslabour market outcomespersonality traitsproductivitysubjective well-beingutility
Type
Non-Symposium Article
Information
The Economic and Labour Relations Review , Volume 28 , Issue 3: Work in the Gig Economy: Issues and Challenges , September 2017 , pp. 361 - 377
Copyright
Copyright © The Author(s) 2017

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