Growth & Health
Studies consistently find that when the incomes of everyone in a community grow over time, conventional measures of well-being show little change.
Growth makes the poor happier in low-income countries but not in developed countries, where those at the bottom continue to experience relative deprivation. But economic growth also matters in wealthy countries.
Growth enables us to expand medical research and other activities that clearly enhance human welfare but have little effect on measured happiness levels.
Subjective well-being is typically measured from responses to survey questions like “All things considered, how satisfied are you with your life these days?” People’s responses tend to be consistent over time and are highly correlated with assessments of them made by their friends.
People who report high levels of subjective well-being are more likely to initiate social contacts with friends and more likely to respond to requests for assistance from strangers. They are less likely than others to suffer from psychosomatic illnesses, seek psychological counseling or attempt suicide.
Across developed countries, higher growth rates are actually associated with cleaner environments. The US is the world’s largest emitter of greenhouse gases not because of its wealth but in spite of it.
Benjamin Friedman reports that societies in which incomes are growing more rapidly tend to support their poorest members more generously. Growth supports continuing investments in workplace safety and frees people to spend additional time with their families.
“Money isn’t a cure-all, but it can improve health” by Robert H. Frank