We examine how regional inequality affects happiness and self-rated health at an individual level by using micro data from nationwide surveys in Japan. Individuals who live in the area of high inequality tend to report themselves as both unhappy and unhealthy, even after controlling for various individual and regional characteristics and taking into account the correlation between the two subje...

Though beliefs in Heaven and Hell are related, they are associated with different personality characteristics and social phenomena. Here we present three studies measuring Heaven and Hell beliefs' associations with and impact on subjective well-being. We find that a belief in Heaven is consistently associated with greater happiness and life satisfaction while a belief in Hell is associated with...

Recent years have witnessed a growing interest among psychologists and other social scientists in subjective well-being and happiness. Here we review selected contributions to this development from the literature on behavioral-decision theory. In particular, we examine many, somewhat surprising, findings that show people systematically fail to predict or choose what maximizes their happiness, a...

Seeking ever-greater happiness-or what researchers refer to as "subjective well-being" (SWB; Diener, 1984; Diener, Suh, Lucas, & Smith, 1999)-is an important goal for people in almost every nation (Diener, 2000). Indeed, ever since the pursuit of happiness was immortalized in the Declaration of Independence as an inalienable right for all citizens, it has become ingrained in U.S. culture. Yet, ...

This paper demonstrates that institutional factors influence the subjective well-being of individuals differently in rich versus poor countries. A lower level of corruption, a more democratic government and better civil rights increase the well-being of individuals in rich countries, whereas an increase in per capita income has no impact. On the contrary, in poor countries the extent of corrupt...

What Creates Happiness? The economy and the economic policies of government are major concerns for people today. Upon reflection, however, many would agree that the ultimate goal in life should be happiness and satisfaction with life, rather than economic growth, high personal income or a colorful career itself. No doubt, income and consumption (which are what economists normally analyze as pro...