The Paradox of Declining Female Happiness

49 Pages Posted: 1 Jun 2009

See all articles by Betsey Stevenson

Betsey Stevenson

University of Michigan at Ann Arbor

Justin Wolfers

University of Michigan at Ann Arbor - Department of Economics; University of Michigan at Ann Arbor - Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy; The University of Sydney - Discipline of Economics; Brookings Institution - Economic Studies Program; Peterson Institute for International Economics; National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER); IZA Institute of Labor Economics; Centre for Economic Policy Research (CEPR); CESifo (Center for Economic Studies and Ifo Institute); Kiel Institute for the World Economy

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Abstract

By many objective measures the lives of women in the United States have improved over the past 35 years, yet we show that measures of subjective well-being indicate that women's happiness has declined both absolutely and relative to men. The paradox of women's declining relative well-being is found across various datasets, measures of subjective well-being, and is pervasive across demographic groups and industrialized countries. Relative declines in female happiness have eroded a gender gap in happiness in which women in the 1970s typically reported higher subjective well-being than did men. These declines have continued and a new gender gap is emerging - one with higher subjective well-being for men.

Keywords: subjective well-being, life satisfaction, happiness, gender, job satisfaction, women's movement

JEL Classification: D6, I32, J1, J7, K1

Suggested Citation

Stevenson, Betsey and Wolfers, Justin, The Paradox of Declining Female Happiness. IZA Discussion Paper No. 4200, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=1412278 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.1412278

Betsey Stevenson (Contact Author)

University of Michigan at Ann Arbor ( email )

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Justin Wolfers

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