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Subjective Well-Being: Weather Matters; Climate Doesn't

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  • Robert Metcalfe
  • John Feddersen
  • Mark Wooden

Abstract

We investigate the impact of short-term weather and long-term climate on self-reported life satisfaction using panel data. We find robust evidence that day-to-day weather variation impacts life satisfaction by a similar magnitude to acquiring a mild disability. Utilizing two sources of variation in the cognitive complexity of satisfaction questions, we present evidence that weather bias arises because of the cognitive challenge of reporting life satisfaction. Consistent with past studies, we detect a relationship between long-term climate and life satisfaction without individual fixed effects. This relationship is not robust to individual fixed effects, suggesting climate does not directly influence life satisfaction.

Suggested Citation

  • Robert Metcalfe & John Feddersen & Mark Wooden, 2012. "Subjective Well-Being: Weather Matters; Climate Doesn't," Economics Series Working Papers 627, University of Oxford, Department of Economics.
    • Handle: RePEc:oxf:wpaper:627
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    Cited by:

    1. Laffan, Kate, 2018. "Every breath you take, every move you make: Visits to the outdoors and physical activity help to explain the relationship between air pollution and subjective wellbeing," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 147(C), pages 96-113.
    2. Frijters, Paul & Lalji, Chitwan & Pakrashi, Debayan, 2020. "Daily weather only has small effects on wellbeing in the US," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 176(C), pages 747-762.
    3. Daniel Osberghaus & Jan Kühling, 2016. "Direct and indirect effects of weather experiences on life satisfaction – which role for climate change expectations?," Journal of Environmental Planning and Management, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 59(12), pages 2198-2230, December.
    4. Barrington-Leigh, Christopher & Behzadnejad, Fatemeh, 2017. "The impact of daily weather conditions on life satisfaction: Evidence from cross-sectional and panel data," Journal of Economic Psychology, Elsevier, vol. 59(C), pages 145-163.
    5. Alem, Yonas & Colmer, Jonathan, 2013. "Optimal Expectations and the Welfare Cost of Climate Variability," Working Papers in Economics 578, University of Gothenburg, Department of Economics.
    6. Christopher Barrington-Leigh & Fatemeh Behzadnejad, 2017. "Evaluating the short-term cost of low-level local air pollution: a life satisfaction approach," Environmental Economics and Policy Studies, Springer;Society for Environmental Economics and Policy Studies - SEEPS, vol. 19(2), pages 269-298, April.
    7. Baylis, Patrick, 2020. "Temperature and temperament: Evidence from Twitter," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 184(C).
    8. Yonas Alem & Jonathan Colmer, 2013. "Don't Worry, Be Happy: The Welfare Cost of Climate Variability � A Subjective Well-Being Approach," GRI Working Papers 118, Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change and the Environment.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Life satisfaction; Subjective well-being; Climate change; Weather;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • Q51 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Environmental Economics - - - Valuation of Environmental Effects
    • C23 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Single Equation Models; Single Variables - - - Models with Panel Data; Spatio-temporal Models
    • C81 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Data Collection and Data Estimation Methodology; Computer Programs - - - Methodology for Collecting, Estimating, and Organizing Microeconomic Data; Data Access
    • C83 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Data Collection and Data Estimation Methodology; Computer Programs - - - Survey Methods; Sampling Methods

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