I haven't read the book in a long time. But the recent literature on happiness does suggest that increasing GDP does not increase self-assessments of happiness once the GDP reaches about $15,000.
The big externality is that your luxury consumption makes other people envious, and thus less happy. On Mon, Mar 26, 2007 at 08:40:31AM -0700, Jim Devine wrote: > I'm not convinced by the last point, partly because Scitovsky doesn't > argue at length for it. In any event, what that says to the ordinary > economist is very simple: we should impose Pigou (effluent) taxes on > products that have negative externalities. (Not on comforts: it's > easier to go straight to the source.) > -- > Jim Devine / "The first derivative is the last refuge of a scoundrel." > -- C. P. Kindleberger -- Michael Perelman Economics Department California State University Chico, CA 95929 Tel. 530-898-5321 E-Mail michael at ecst.csuchico.edu michaelperelman.wordpress.com
