Stubborn Attachments: A Vision for a Society of Free, Prosperous, and Responsible Individuals

by Tyler Cowen

even if we accept the “flatline” empirical result on happiness and wealth, these self-reported happiness questionnaires are given to individuals in normal life circumstances. The answers will not pick up the ability of wealthier economies to postpone or mitigate extreme tragedies. For instance, happiness measures cannot pick up the benefits of greater life expectancy. The dead and incapacitated cannot complain about their situation from the grave, at least not on questionnaires. Life expectancy rises with wealth, but self-reports of happiness miss this benefit because researchers do not poll the dead. If an immigrant, or a child of immigrants, fills out a happiness questionnaire, no comparison is made between their current and pre-immigration state of affairs, either as it was or as it might have been. By design, happiness research draws upon a fixed pool of people living under relatively normal circumstances. This will limit its ability to measure some of the largest benefits brought about by economic growth. If we want to be around to even have the option of answering happiness questionnaires, wealth is extremely important.

e/o growth makes us happier