Where do I rank? Am I happy?: learning income position and subjective-wellbeing in an internet experiment

TL;DR

This study uses an internet experiment to explore how learning one's income position affects subjective well-being, revealing that higher income rank generally enhances happiness, with effects influenced by personal traits.

Contribution

It introduces a novel internet survey method to assess the causal impact of income position information on subjective well-being, considering individual differences.

Findings

Higher income position information increases subjective well-being.

Effects vary based on individual characteristics.

Income rank improvements lead to happiness gains.

Abstract

A tailor-made internet survey experiment provides individuals with information on their income positions to examine their effects on subjective well-being. In the first survey, respondents were asked about their household income and subjective well-being. Based on the data collected, three different respondents' income positions within the residential locality, within a group of the same educational background, and cohort were obtained. In the follow-up survey for the treatment group, respondents are informed of their income positions and then asked for subjective well-being. Key findings are that, after obtaining information, a higher individual's income position improves their subjective well-being. The effects varied according to individual characteristics and proxies.