Hello Fellow Hedonists,
Justin Wolfers and Betsey Stevenson claim that they have have shown that there is no Easterlin Paradox!
The authors don't address the truly puzzling cases that troubled Easterlin: why, for example, are Venezuelans happier than Americans? Why, exactly, are extremely wealthy nations (such as Japan) as happy or slightly happier than poor nations (such as Jamaica)?
As far as I'm concerned, this chart reveals the gross hedonic inefficiency of wealthy nations (and, conversely, the hedonic ingenuity of less wealthy nations). Remember, money is extrinsically valuable, and this data provides us with reasons to reconsider the way we use it.
Excelsior!
C.L.Sosis
P.S. You can watch a video on the research, here.
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