Evolutionary Efficiency and Happiness
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 10172048 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Luis Rayo (0000-0003-4429-7398, University of Chicago), Gary S Becker (Hoover Institution) |
| Year | 2007 |
| Volume | 115 |
| Issue | 2 |
| Pages | 302-337 |
| Publication date | 2007-04-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | No |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Journal of Political Economy (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0022-3808 • E-ISSN: 1537-534X |
| Publisher | University of Chicago Press (PUBLISHER • US) |
| DOI | 10.1086/516737 |
| OpenAlex | W2102112353 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 63 |
| References cited | 19 |
We model happiness as a measurement tool used to rank alternative actions. Evolution favors a happiness function that measures the individualâ€TMs success in relative terms. The optimal function is based on a time-varying reference point—or performance benchmark—that is updated over time in a statistically optimal way in order to match the individualâ€TMs potential. Habits and peer comparisons arise as special cases of such an updating process. This updating also results in a volatile level of happiness that continuously reverts to its long-term mean. Throughout, we draw a parallel with a problem of optimal incentives, which allows us to apply statistical insights from agency theory to the study of happiness
Agency (philosophy · Benchmark (surveying · Econometrics · Economics · Function (biology · Geography · Happiness · Incentive · Microeconomics · Point (geometry · Rank (graph theory · Sociology · Term (time · Computer Science · Decision-Making and Behavioral Economics · Economic theories and models · Experimental Behavioral Economics Studies · Mathematics · Psychology · Social Psychology
Initial Labor Market Conditions and Long-Term Outcomes for Economists
When Samuelson Met Veblen Abroad
Societies, Types of
Well-Being for Public Policy
Positional Externalities Cause Large and Preventable Welfare Losses
Money and mental wellbeing
Health, income and relative deprivation
Life Satisfaction Dynamics with Quarterly Life Event Data
Happiness Economics From 35 000 Feet
Valuing public goods using happiness data
Happiness adaptation to income and to status in an individual panel
Does happiness adapt? A longitudinal study of disability with implications for economists and judges
Relative Effects on Life Satisfaction Revisited
Is Happiness Adaptation to Poverty Limited? The Role of Reference Income
Economics and social stratification
Preference evolution, attention, and happiness
The problem of evil
From Foundations of Justice Analysis to Current and Future Challenges
Personal Bests and Gender
Relative Status and Well-Being
Attention and Regret
Quantifying the Intangible Impact of the Olympics Using Subjective Well-Being Data
The Host with the Most? The Effects of the Olympic Games on Happiness
La croissance du PIB rendra-t-elle les habitants des pays en développement plus heureux
Quantifying the intangible impact of the Olympics using subjective well-being data
Social pathologies, recognition, and forms of life
Some Thoughts on the Adaptive Function of Inequity Aversion
The tragedy of the commons in a fishery when relative performance matters
Institutions, Culture, and Wetland Values
Relative consumption with multiple reference points under uncertainty
Identifying bounded rationality with panel data
Freedom and life satisfaction in transition
Inequality, happiness and relative concerns
The Happiness of Nations
Transforming lives
Infrastructure privatization and changes in corruption patterns
How Interdependent are Cross-Country Happiness Dynamics
Paying for Happiness
Why travel prolongs happiness
On the causes and consequences of hedonic adaptation
Performance targets, effort and risk-taking
An evolutionary explanation for risk aversion
What childhood characteristics predict psychological resilience to economic shocks in adulthood
Retracted
Smart Representations
Left Behind
How Basic Are Behavioral Biases? Evidence from Capuchin Monkey Trading Behavior
Moral Rules, the Moral Sentiments, and Behavior
How Status Concerns Can Make Us Rich and Happy
Selective Sampling with Information-Storage Constraints
Destruction and Distress
Always Rational Choice Theory? Lessons from Conventional Economics and Their Relevance and Potential Benefits for Contemporary Sociologists
Happiness, higher wants, and policy evaluation
Most (if not all!) deaths are to some extent suicides
Relative Income, Happiness, and Utility
Some Uses of Happiness Data in Economics
How probability distributions felled the case for the beneficial effects of income inequality
The importance of what people care about
Advancing knowledge in the spirit of Fararo
Constructing a governmental vision of happiness
What happens to people before and after disability? Focusing effects, lead effects, and adaptation in different areas of life
Linking Input Inequality and Outcome Inequality
Certainty, unity, tolerance
Moral Hazard and Observability
Relational Incentive Contracts
Will raising the incomes of all increase the happiness of all?
Satisfaction and comparison income
The Utility of Wealth
A Comparison of Tournaments and Contracts
Social Norms, Savings Behavior, and Growth
Habit Formation
Rank-Order Tournaments as Optimum Labor Contracts
Why Would Nature Give Individuals Utility Functions
Happiness and Economic Performance
From the happiness of virtue to the virtue of happiness
Game theory and the social contract
Immune neglect
| Unique citing works | 63 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 3 |
| Citation span | 2005 - 2026 (22) |
| Citation velocity | current |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 61 |