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Happiness Research and Cost-Benefit Analysis

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  • Matthew Adler
  • Eric A. Posner

Abstract

A growing body of research on happiness or subjective well-being (SWB) shows, among other things, that people adapt to many injuries more rapidly than is commonly thought, fail to predict the degree of adaptation and hence overestimate the impact of those injuries on their SWB, and, similarly, enjoy small or moderate rather than significant changes in SWB in response to significant changes in income. Some researchers believe that these findings pose a challenge to cost-benefit analysis and argue that project evaluation decision procedures based on economic premises should be replaced with procedures that directly maximize SWB. This view turns out to be wrong or, at best, premature. Cost-benefit analysis remains a viable decision procedure. However, some of the findings in the happiness literature can be used to generate valuations for cost-benefit analysis where current approaches have proved inadequate. (c) 2008 by The University of Chicago. All rights reserved.

Suggested Citation

  • Matthew Adler & Eric A. Posner, 2008. "Happiness Research and Cost-Benefit Analysis," The Journal of Legal Studies, University of Chicago Press, vol. 37(S2), pages 253-292, June.
  • Handle: RePEc:ucp:jlstud:v:37:y:2008:i:s2:p:s253-s292
    DOI: 10.1086/590188
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    Cited by:

    1. Dorsett, Richard & Oswald, Andrew J., 2014. "Human Well-being and In-Work Benefits: A Randomized Controlled Trial," IZA Discussion Papers 7943, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    2. Bruno S. Frey & Simon Luechinger & Alois Stutzer, 2010. "The Life Satisfaction Approach to Environmental Valuation," Annual Review of Resource Economics, Annual Reviews, vol. 2(1), pages 139-160, October.
    3. Beckmann, Michael & Cornelissen, Thomas & Schauenberg, Bernd, 2009. "Fixed-term Employment, Work Organization and Job Satisfaction : Evidence from German Individual-Level Data," Working papers 2009/08, Faculty of Business and Economics - University of Basel.
    4. Lindsey, Robin, 2011. "State-dependent congestion pricing with reference-dependent preferences," Transportation Research Part B: Methodological, Elsevier, vol. 45(10), pages 1501-1526.
    5. Wu, Wenjie, 2015. "Rail access and subjective well-being: Evidence from quality of life surveys," Journal of Comparative Economics, Elsevier, vol. 43(2), pages 456-470.
    6. Dorsett, Richard & Oswald, Andrew J., 2014. "Human Well-being and In-Work Benefits: A Randomized Controlled Trial," IZA Discussion Papers 7943, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    7. Koen Decancq & Marc Fleurbaey & Erik Schokkaert, 2015. "Happiness, Equivalent Incomes and Respect for Individual Preferences," Economica, London School of Economics and Political Science, vol. 82, pages 1082-1106, December.
    8. Cohen Kaminitz, Shiri, 2024. "The Strong 'Dual-Necessity’ principle for ranking social progress," World Development Perspectives, Elsevier, vol. 33(C).
    9. Angner, Erik, 2010. "Subjective well-being," Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Economics (formerly The Journal of Socio-Economics), Elsevier, vol. 39(3), pages 361-368, June.
    10. Noel Semple, 2021. "Good Enough for Government Work? Life-Evaluation and Public Policy," Journal of Happiness Studies, Springer, vol. 22(3), pages 1119-1140, March.

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