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The Asymmetric Experience of Positive and Negative Economic Growth: Global Evidence Using Subjective Well-Being Data

Jan-Emmanuel De Neve, George Ward, Femke De Keulenaer, Bert Van Landeghem, Georgios Kavetsos and Michael I. Norton

Posted Online May 04, 2018
https://doi.org/10.1162/REST_a_00697

Review of Economics and Statistics

Volume 100 | Issue 2 | May 2018
p.362-375
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The Asymmetric Experience of Positive and Negative Economic Growth: Global Evidence Using Subjective Well-Being Data

Jan-Emmanuel De Neve, George Ward, Femke De Keulenaer, Bert Van Landeghem, Georgios Kavetsos and Michael I. Norton
https://doi.org/10.1162/REST_a_00697
Received: April 22, 2015
Accepted: February 22, 2017
Published Online: May 04, 2018
Abstract

Are individuals more sensitive to losses than gains in terms of economic growth?We find that measures of subjective well-being are more than twice as sensitive to negative as compared to positive economic growth. We use Gallup World Poll data from over 150 countries, BRFSS data on 2.3 million U.S. respondents, and Eurobarometer data that cover multiple business cycles over four decades. This research provides a new perspective on the welfare cost of business cycles, with implications for growth policy and the nature of the long-run relationship between GDP and subjective well-being.

Jan-Emmanuel De Neve
University of Oxford
George Ward
MIT and Centre for Economic Performance
Femke De Keulenaer
IPSOS
Bert Van Landeghem
University of Sheffield, Maastricht University, and IZA
Georgios Kavetsos
Queen Mary University of London and Centre for Economic Performance
Michael I. Norton
Harvard Business School
https://doi.org/10.1162/REST_a_00697
Abstract

Are individuals more sensitive to losses than gains in terms of economic growth?We find that measures of subjective well-being are more than twice as sensitive to negative as compared to positive economic growth. We use Gallup World Poll data from over 150 countries, BRFSS data on 2.3 million U.S. respondents, and Eurobarometer data that cover multiple business cycles over four decades. This research provides a new perspective on the welfare cost of business cycles, with implications for growth policy and the nature of the long-run relationship between GDP and subjective well-being.

Jan-Emmanuel De Neve
University of Oxford
George Ward
MIT and Centre for Economic Performance
Femke De Keulenaer
IPSOS
Bert Van Landeghem
University of Sheffield, Maastricht University, and IZA
Georgios Kavetsos
Queen Mary University of London and Centre for Economic Performance
Michael I. Norton
Harvard Business School
Download Options

The Asymmetric Experience of Positive and Negative Economic Growth: Global Evidence Using Subjective Well-Being Data

Jan-Emmanuel De Neve, George Ward, Femke De Keulenaer, Bert Van Landeghem, Georgios Kavetsos and Michael I. Norton
https://doi.org/10.1162/REST_a_00697
Received: April 22, 2015
Accepted: February 22, 2017
Published Online: May 04, 2018
Abstract

Are individuals more sensitive to losses than gains in terms of economic growth?We find that measures of subjective well-being are more than twice as sensitive to negative as compared to positive economic growth. We use Gallup World Poll data from over 150 countries, BRFSS data on 2.3 million U.S. respondents, and Eurobarometer data that cover multiple business cycles over four decades. This research provides a new perspective on the welfare cost of business cycles, with implications for growth policy and the nature of the long-run relationship between GDP and subjective well-being.

Jan-Emmanuel De Neve
University of Oxford
George Ward
MIT and Centre for Economic Performance
Femke De Keulenaer
IPSOS
Bert Van Landeghem
University of Sheffield, Maastricht University, and IZA
Georgios Kavetsos
Queen Mary University of London and Centre for Economic Performance
Michael I. Norton
Harvard Business School
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