Saturday, July 31, 2004
Europeans and Americans
Following the trail of blogs by Reuben and Jaideep, here is interesting evidence that compared to Americans, Europeans do have different perceptions of happiness. This academic piece finds that
In Europe, the poor and those on the left of the political spectrum are unhappy about inequality; whereas in the US the happiness of the poor and of those on the left is uncorrelated with inequality. Interestingly, in the US, the rich are bothered by inequality. Comparing across continents, we find that left-wingers in Europe are more hurt by inequality than left-wingers in the US.
The authors conclude that this is consistent with
the perception (not necessarily the reality) that Americans have of living in a mobile society, where individual effort can move people up and down the income ladder, while Europeans believe that they live in less mobile societies.
If the goal of public policy is to make people happier, perhaps one should consciously change (and pay attention to) societal perceptions of success. Not surprisingly, cultures that view effort and talent more important for success than birth, religion, caste and corruption are likely to be happier.
In Europe, the poor and those on the left of the political spectrum are unhappy about inequality; whereas in the US the happiness of the poor and of those on the left is uncorrelated with inequality. Interestingly, in the US, the rich are bothered by inequality. Comparing across continents, we find that left-wingers in Europe are more hurt by inequality than left-wingers in the US.
The authors conclude that this is consistent with
the perception (not necessarily the reality) that Americans have of living in a mobile society, where individual effort can move people up and down the income ladder, while Europeans believe that they live in less mobile societies.
If the goal of public policy is to make people happier, perhaps one should consciously change (and pay attention to) societal perceptions of success. Not surprisingly, cultures that view effort and talent more important for success than birth, religion, caste and corruption are likely to be happier.
