Does happiness adapt? A longitudinal study of disability with implications for economists and judges

Publication type

Journal Article

Authors

Publication date

June 1, 2008

Abstract:

This paper is an empirical study of partial hedonic adaptation. It provides longitudinal evidence that people who become disabled go on to exhibit considerable recovery in mental well-being. In fixed-effects equations we estimate the degree of hedonic adaptation at — depending on the severity of the disability — approximately 30% to 50%. Our calculations should be viewed as illustrative; more research, on other data sets, is needed. Nevertheless, we discuss potential implications of our results for economists and the courts.

Published in

Journal of Public Economics

Volume

Volume: 92 (5-6):1061-1077

DOI

http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jpubeco.2008.01.002

Subjects

Notes

Albert Sloman Library Periodicals *restricted to Univ. Essex registered users*

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