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http://hdl.handle.net/10419/56131
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| Title: | | Competition and well-being: Does market competition make people unhappy?  |
| Authors: | | Fischer, Justina A. V. |
| Issue Date: | | 2008 |
| Series/Report no.: | | SSE/EFI Working Paper Series in Economics and Finance 697 |
| Abstract: | | Empirical research on the role of economic institutions for subjective well-being is still widely lacking, while recent economic-experimental outcomes suggest that experienced utility may depend on the intensity of market competition. This paper is the first to empirically analyze the implication of market competition for subjective well-being using real-life survey data on 80,000 individuals in more than 60 countries from the World Values Survey 1997-2001. In support of our hypothesis, we find that market competition aggravates the impact of individual's bargaining position in economic transactions on her subjective well-being - compared to the least powerful in society. Put differently, we find that market competition enlarges the happiness differences caused by cleavages in socio-economic position. Our results also suggest that competition induced welfare changes are not gender-specific, while a stronger rule of law appears to prevent the generation of such additional benefits or losses. Particularly the latter results call for further economic-experimental corroboration in the laboratory, but also bear important policy implications. |
| Subjects: | | Subjective well-being happiness utility competition rule of law completeness of contract laboratory experiment World Values Survey |
| JEL: | | C99 D02 D40 I31 |
| Document Type: | | Working Paper |
| Appears in Collections: | | SSE/EFI Working Paper Series in Economics and Finance, EFI - The Economic Research Institute, Stockholm School of Economics
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