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What Do You Think Would Make You Happier? What Do You Think You Would Choose?Daniel J. BenjaminCornell University - Department of Economics; National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) Ori HeffetzCornell University - S.C. Johnson Graduate School of Management Miles S. KimballUniversity of Michigan at Ann Arbor - Department of Economics; National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) Alex Rees-JonesCornell University - Department of Economics July 27, 2011 American Economic Review, Forthcoming Johnson School Research Paper Series No. 32-2011 Abstract: Would people choose what they think would maximize their subjective well-being (SWB)? We present survey respondents with hypothetical scenarios and elicit both choice and predicted SWB rankings of two alternatives. While choice and predicted SWB rankings usually coincide in our data, we find systematic reversals. We identify factors - such as predicted sense of purpose, control over one’s life, family happiness, and social status - that help explain hypothetical choice controlling for predicted SWB. We explore how our findings vary by SWB measure and by scenario. Our results have implications regarding the use of SWB survey questions as a proxy for utility.
Number of Pages in PDF File: 42 Keywords: happiness, life satisfaction, subjective well-being, hypothetical choice, utility JEL Classification: D03, D60 Accepted Paper SeriesDate posted: July 28, 2011Suggested CitationContact Information
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