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Happiness, Income, and Beyond

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Abstract

This commentary to Carol Graham’s paper deals with the nature of the relationship between income and happiness. Carol Graham focuses her contribution on what I call the positive-coefficient hypothesis in economic theory; which states that, on average, well-being rises with income. The hypothesis was first questioned by Richard Easterlin’s pioneering work and it has captured a lot of attention from happiness researchers during the last decade. My contribution deals with a related hypothesis, which I call the close-relationship hypothesis in economic theory. The hypothesis states that a person’s income is a good predictor of his or her well-being. I show that this hypothesis is rejected by happiness research, and I discuss the implications of this rejection.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. FLACSO-Mexico & UPAEP, Mexico City, Mexico

    Mariano Rojas

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  1. Mariano Rojas
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Correspondence to Mariano Rojas.

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Rojas, M. Happiness, Income, and Beyond. Applied Research Quality Life 6, 265–276 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11482-011-9153-7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11482-011-9153-7

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