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Happiness and public choice

Frey, Bruno ; Stutzer, Alois

In: Public Choice, 2010, vol. 144, no. 3-4, p. 557-573

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    Titel
    • Happiness and public choice
    Autor
    • Frey, Bruno. Institute for Empirical Research in Economics, University of Zurich, Winterthurerstrasse 30, 8006, Zurich, Switzerland
    • Stutzer, Alois. CREMA—Center for Research in Economics, Management and the Arts, 4052, Basel, Switzerland
    Dokumententyp
    • Postprint
    Sprache
    • Englisch
    Veröffentlicht in
    • Public Choice, 2010, vol. 144, no. 3-4, p. 557-573. Springer US; http://www.springer-ny.com
    Andere elektronische Ausgabe
    OAI-PMH-ID
    • oai:doc.rero.ch:310555
    Summary
    Measuring individual welfare using data on reported subjective well-being has made great progress. It offers a new way of confronting public choice hypotheses with field data, e.g., with respect to partisan preferences or rents in the public bureaucracy. Insights from public choice also help to assess the role of happiness measures in public policy. We emphasize that maximizing aggregate happiness as a social welfare function neglects incentive problems and political institutions while citizens are reduced to metric stations. The goal of happiness research should be to improve the nature of the processes through which individuals can express their preferences