Publication type
Journal Article
Authors
Publication date
February 15, 2022
Summary:
This paper tests how people’s subjective well-being reacts when they compare themselves with other people of the same gender, and if this reaction differs between women and men. We implement a randomized control trial prompting some respondents to compare themselves with people of the same gender and leaving the reference group of others unconstrained. Treated women report higher income and leisure satisfaction. Evaluating satisfaction in relation to a given reference group may be cognitively demanding. When accounting for this, we find that the treatment also increases women’s health satisfaction. No or small effects are found for men, suggesting that the reference group affects subjective well-being reporting of men and women differently.
Published in
Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization
Volume and page numbers
Volume: 194 , p.196 -219
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jebo.2021.12.016
ISSN
1672681
Subjects
Notes
Open Access
Under a Creative Commons license
© 2021 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier B.V.
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