Consumption, Happiness, and Climate Change

Abstract:     
In this article, we explore the implications of this literature for understanding the relationship between climate change policies and consumption. We identify a number of ways in which accounting for the implications of the new happiness literature could lead to laws and policies that influence consumption in ways that increase the prospects for reducing greenhouse gas emissions in developed and developing countries. We do not examine every nuance of the growing happiness literature, but we provide a brief introduction and observations that we hope will stimulate further efforts by academicians and policymakers.

Keywords: happiness, life satisfaction, subjective well-being

JEL Classifications: Q54, I31, D31

Accepted Paper Series