Can Marginal Rates of Substitution Be Inferred from Happiness Data? Evidence from Residency Choices

S-Tier
Journal: American Economic Review
Year: 2014
Volume: 104
Issue: 11
Pages: 3498-3528

Score contribution per author:

2.011 = (α=2.01 / 4 authors) × 4.0x S-tier

α: calibrated so average coauthorship-adjusted count equals average raw count

Abstract

We survey 561 students from U.S. medical schools shortly after they submit choice rankings over residencies to the National Resident Matching Program. We elicit (a) these choice rankings, (b) anticipated subjective well-being (SWB) rankings, and (c) expected features of the residencies (such as prestige). We find substantial differences between choice and anticipated-SWB rankings in the implied tradeoffs between residency features. In our data, evaluative SWB measures (life satisfaction and Cantril's ladder) imply tradeoffs closer to choice than does affective happiness (even time-integrated), and as close as do multi-measure SWB indices. We discuss implications for using SWB data in applied work.

Technical Details

RePEc Handle
repec:aea:aecrev:v:104:y:2014:i:11:p:3498-3528
Journal Field
General
Author Count
4
Added to Database
2026-01-24