Comments on: Money as the cure for materialism?

By: Andrew Norton » Blog Archive » Hayekian vs Keynesian happiness

Andrew Norton » Blog Archive » Hayekian vs Keynesian happiness — Sun, 17 Oct 2010 09:48:58 +0000

[...] « Money as the cure for materialism? [...]

By: Russell

Russell — Thu, 14 Oct 2010 04:19:37 +0000

“showing that material with materialistic goals are less happy”
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Or should that be “people with un-realistically materialistic goals are less happy”? My colleagues have been mostly women and they shop a lot. They pay a lot of attention to shoes and clothes, they visit IKEA, they spend a lot of time online looking at hotels they might stay in for their next holiday.
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A lot of this stuff can be cheap and affordable and being absorbed in it keeps people happy. But there are other people who keep buying more than they can’t afford, who measure themselves by the things others have, or the looks others have, and they are not so happy because they’ll never be able to achieve what they desire. Self-discipline is also part of their problem, and the lack of it has consequences in all aspects of their life.

By: Andrew Norton

Andrew Norton — Wed, 13 Oct 2010 07:08:37 +0000

Rajat – Indeed, attitudes are hard to change. But so too is behaviour. Higher marginal tax rates could encourage more work as people try to maintain their living standards. At least in the short term, in the absence of changed attitudes, that is the more likely outcome.

By: Challenging the set point theory of subjective wellbeing | CSSA news & research

Wed, 13 Oct 2010 00:44:42 +0000

[...] a recent blog post, Andrew Norton notes that people with more money tend to be happier than people with less. And [...]

By: News clips – Wednesday 13 October 2010 | CSSA news & research

News clips – Wednesday 13 October 2010 | CSSA news & research — Tue, 12 Oct 2010 20:48:38 +0000

[...] Money as the cure for materialism? [...]

By: Rajat Sood

Rajat Sood — Tue, 12 Oct 2010 11:12:01 +0000

Headey et al themselves say:”..there may be some reverse causation at work. Happiness may affect life choices, as well as vice versa.” (p.4)
But even if changing attitudes can change long-term happiness, how do policy-makers change attitudes? Many of the advocates of anti-materialism such as Clive Hamilton and the Australia Institute propose increasing top marginal tax rates or limiting working hours. But while these measures might discourage work, it is not clear they would discourage materialism.