Paper #436

Títol:

Relative payoffs and happiness: An experimental study

Autors:

Gary Charness i Brit Grosskopf

Data:

Agost 1999

Resum:

Some current utility models presume that people are concerned with their relative standing in a reference group. If this is true, do certain types care more about this than others? Using simple binary decisions and self-reported happiness, we investigate both the prevalence of ``difference aversion'' and whether happiness levels influence the taste for social comparisons. Our decision tasks distinguish between a person�s desire to achieving the social optimum, equality or advantageous relative standing. Most people appear to disregard relative payoffs, instead typically making choices resulting in higher social payoffs. While we do not find a strong general correlation between happiness and concern for relative payoffs, we do observe that a willingness to lower another person�s payoff below one�s own (competitive preferences) seems correlated with unhappiness.

Paraules clau:

Happiness, relative payoffs, social preferences, subjective well-being, Leex

Codis JEL:

A12, A13, B49, C91, D63

Àrea de Recerca:

Economia Experimental i del Comportament

Publicat a:

Journal of Economic Behavior and Organization, vol. 45(3), pp. 301-328, 2001

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