Date of Graduation

Spring 5-17-2018

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Science in International and Development Economics (MSIDEC)

College/School

College of Arts and Sciences

Department/Program

Economics

First Advisor

Peter Lorentzen

Abstract

Everyone wants to be happy. Happiness however never seems to be a national goal. A possible answer is that happiness is subjective and on its own may not be reflective of the economic status of a country. Therefore, should people’s happiness should be treated equally with other traditional economic measurements? This cross-country level study looks at the relationship between happiness and traditional economic measurements; mainly GDP per capita. Questions concerning whether GDP per capita indeed captures the overall well-being of a citizen and happiness’ eligibility as an economic measurement are addressed. Findings confirm that happiness and GDP per capita are positively correlated. As a result, subjective happiness may not be all that different from traditional economic measures like GDP per capita.

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