wolfers

If anything, Ms. Stevenson and Mr. Wolfers say, absolute income seems to matter more than relative income.

Wolfers, as the representative of this theory, has his own unique views.

But other researchers, including Gallup Senior Scientist Justin Wolfers and fellow economist Betsey Stevenson, have challenged the theory.

Adults are living longer, having fewer children, divorcing at a higher rate, and finding new partners, Stevenson and Wolfers write.

Another report, released Thursday by Gallup, may provides further support for Professor Wolfers's hypothesis.

The economist Justin Wolfers wrote a provocative post last month arguing that children are "inferior goods. "

"When I heard about it, I started checking the betting markets in the early hours a lot more closely, " says Justin Wolfers.

Messrs Blanchard and Wolfers perform two tests.

'What we care about in the world is not just happiness, ' says Mr. Wolfers.

Ms. Stevenson and Justin Wolfers, also of the Wharton School, gave a friend $150 to hire movers instead of helping him themselves.

According to Mr Wolfers, the correlation was unclear in the past because of a paucity of data.

"My long-run prediction is that newspapers in 2020 will look like newspapers in 1920, " Wharton School's Wolfers says.

"Score that one for Easterlin, " says Justin Wolfers.