Uncounted or illusory blessings? Competing responses to the Easterlin, Easterbrook and Schwartz paradoxes of well-being

Abstract

The Easterlin paradox concerns slight or negligible increases in personal satisfaction reported as income rises beyond high middle income levels. Sister paradoxes highlighted by Easterbrook and Schwartz concern the frequent low or negligible impact on personal satisfaction of improvements in various dimensions of life. The paper identifies a range of responses to the paradoxes, shows how these responses reflect a series of different conceptions of the meaning of well-being, and assesses their cogency. It indicates areas where follow-on research is required. Copyrigh