The economic science has often been defined as ‘dismal’. However, it witnessed the origin of a new branch right inside its discipline aimed at understanding the determinants of happiness, also known as subjective well-being (SWB), and thus to contribute to the improvement of such dimensions using its theoretical and methodological tools. This article aims at reviewing the contributions that have given rise to the study of happiness in economics by highlighting the discussion about the implications for policymaking and the analysis of the methodological instruments used to this purpuse. We found that the study of SWB in economics is significant in order to better understand the determinants of SWB and it presents opportunities also for the policy studies, especially for a better design and evaluation of public policies’ impact on social welfare.

How does the study of subjective well-being became significant in the economic research and why is it relevant for the policy studies?

CASALE, DONATELLA
2015-01-01

Abstract

The economic science has often been defined as ‘dismal’. However, it witnessed the origin of a new branch right inside its discipline aimed at understanding the determinants of happiness, also known as subjective well-being (SWB), and thus to contribute to the improvement of such dimensions using its theoretical and methodological tools. This article aims at reviewing the contributions that have given rise to the study of happiness in economics by highlighting the discussion about the implications for policymaking and the analysis of the methodological instruments used to this purpuse. We found that the study of SWB in economics is significant in order to better understand the determinants of SWB and it presents opportunities also for the policy studies, especially for a better design and evaluation of public policies’ impact on social welfare.
2015
Casale, Donatella
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Utilizza questo identificativo per citare o creare un link a questo documento: https://hdl.handle.net/11568/701671
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