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The Richer, the Happier? An Empirical Investigation in Selected European Countries

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Abstract

This study analyses the relationship between subjective and objective measures of well-being in selected European countries using the data of the European Community Household Panel (ECHP). In the first part of the paper, we develop a random-effect ordered probit model, separately for each country, relating the subjective measure of income satisfaction to actual income, and controlling for some individual and household socio-demographic fixed effects. In the second part of the paper, we fit a Bayesian cross-classified multilevel model, in order to control for intra-family correlation in subjective well-being, which actually appears to be present.

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Correspondence to Chiara Seghieri.

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The research was financially supported by the Italian Ministry of University and Scientific Research and by the 5th European Research Programme (FELICIE – Future Elderly Living Conditions In Europe, No. QLRT-2001-02310, http://www.felicie.org). We gratefully acknowledge the contribution of an anonymous referee.

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Seghieri, C., Desantis, G. & Tanturri, M.L. The Richer, the Happier? An Empirical Investigation in Selected European Countries. Soc Indic Res 79, 455–476 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11205-005-5394-x

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