Increasing evidence from the empirical economic and psychological literature suggests that positive and negative well-being are more than opposite ends of the same phenomenon. Two separate measures of the dependent variable may be needed when analyzing the determinants of subjective well-being. We argue that this conclusion reflects in part the use of too restrictive econometric models. A flexi...

The life-cycle theory of consumption draws a well-established distinction between the implications for consumption of changes in wealth perceived to be of a “transitory” as opposed to a “permanent” nature. In this paper, using a unique combination of regulatory and survey micro-data, we examine the importance of the life-cycle theory, in estimating housing wealth effects for the Irish mortgage ...

Smoking Persistence Across Countries: An Analysis Using Semi-Parametric Dynamic Panel Data Models with Selectivity We study smoking persistence in ten countries using data from the European Community Household Panel. Such persistence may be due to true state dependence but may also reflect individual unobserved heterogeneity. We distinguish between the two by using semiparametric dynamic panel ...

Charitable bequests are a major source of income for charities but surprisingly little is known about them. The aim of this paper is to propose a multi-stage framework for analysing the bequest decision and to examine the evidence for Great Britain provided by new data on estates. The novelty of the framework is that it distinguishes between the different steps that lead to a charitable bequest...

This paper uses annual time series data from Taiwan to empirically estimate the demand for cigarettes, in consideration of the import liberation of foreign cigarettes and of anti-smoking campaigns. The results indicate that the price elasticities for domestic and imported cigarettes are -0.6 and -1.1, respectively. The cross-price elasticities are 0.08 for domestic and 2.78 for imported cigaret...

A hedonic price function for wine is estimated using Swedish data, 1989-91. Implicit prices for quality attributes are determined not from a regression of variety price on a vector of quality attributes, but rather from a regression of quantity sold (adjusted for weeks of availability) on price and quality attributes. Such a ‘reduced form’ is justified by the assumption that prices and attribut...

A Flexible Test for Present Bias and Time Preferences Using Land-Lease Contracts When agents have present bias, they discount more between now and the next period than between period t (> 1) and t + 1. How fast the future discount rate (evaluated today) decays is an empirical question. We show that the discount function can be non-parametrically identified with contracts that specify payments t...

Experimental tests of dynamically inconsistent time preferences have largely relied on choices over time-dated monetary rewards. Several recent studies have failed to find the standard patterns of present bias. However, such monetary studies contain oftendiscussed confounds. In this paper, we sidestep these confounds and investigate choices over consumption (real effort) in a longitudinal exper...

We define necessary and sufficient conditions on prices and incomes under which quantity choices can violate SARP (Strong Axiom of Revealed Preference) but not WARP (Weak Axiom of Revealed Preference). As SARP extends WARP by additionally imposing transitivity on the revealed preference relation, this effectively defines the conditions under which transitivity adds bite to the empirical analysi...

Motorized individual transport strongly contributes to global CO2 emissions, due to its intensive usage of fossil fuels. Current political efforts addressing this issue (i.e. emission performance standards in the EU) are directed towards car manufacturers. This paper focuses on the demand side. It examines whether CO2 emissions per kilometer is a relevant attribute in car choices. Based on a ch...