Competition and well-being: Does market competition make people unhappy?

Arbeitspapier

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.

Object Details

• Language: Englisch

References and Relationships

• Bibliographic citation: Series: SSE/EFI Working Paper Series in Economics and Finance ; No. 697

Classification and Topics

• Classification: Wirtschaft ; Design of Experiments: Other ; Institutions: Design, Formation, Operations, and Impact ; Market Structure, Pricing, and Design: General ; General Welfare; Well-Being
• Subject: Subjective well-being ; happiness ; utility ; competition ; rule of law ; completeness of contract ; laboratory experiment ; World Values Survey ; Zufriedenheit ; Lebensqualität ; Wettbewerb ; Marktstruktur ; Rechtsstaat ; Welt

Contributors, Places and Time

• Event: Geistige Schöpfung
• (who): Fischer, Justina A. V.
• Event: Veröffentlichung
• (who): Stockholm School of Economics, The Economic Research Institute (EFI)
• (where): Stockholm
• (when): 2008

Further information

• Handle: http://hdl.handle.net/10419/56131
• Last update: 10.03.2025, 11:43 AM CET