Posted on by Will Wilkinson

Happiness Inequality

Read Justin Wolfers first in a trilogy of posts on U.S. happiness inequality at Freakonomics.
Also check out Eduardo Porter's account of Stevenson and Wolfer's paper:

It seems odd that happiness would become more egalitarian over a period in which the share of the nation’s income sucked in by the richest 1 percent of Americans rose from 7 percent to 17 percent. In fact, the report does find a growing happiness gap between Americans with higher levels of education and those with less, which is roughly in line with the widening pay gap between the skilled and unskilled.

2 Replies to “Happiness Inequality”

  2. Adam Smith once said,

    Little else is requisite to carry a state
    to the highest degree of opulence from the lowest barbarism but peace, easy taxes, and a
    tolerable administration of justice.


    Now, Adam Smith is no Chris Rock, but still.
    All of these things, especially the third, require the exertion of vast numbers of people, not just one, and certainly not just the President.
    Presidents are important, yes. Presidents are not magic, no.

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