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Is the Just Man a Happy Man? An Empirical Study of the Relationship between Ethics and Subjective Well‐Being
Author(s) -
James, Jr. Harvey S.
Publication year - 2011
Publication title -
kyklos
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.766
H-Index - 58
eISSN - 1467-6435
pISSN - 0023-5962
DOI - 10.1111/j.1467-6435.2011.00502.x
Subject(s) - happiness , world values survey , social psychology , well being , subjective well being , psychology , positive relationship , demographic economics , sociology , political science , economics , law
SUMMARY This paper uses data from the 2005–2006 wave of the World Values Survey to answer the question of whether ethical decision‐making affects a person's happiness. Regression analyses focusing on the four largest economies in North and South America (the United States, Canada, Mexico and Brazil) reveal a generally positive relationship between ethics and happiness. In particular, respondents who do not justify unethical actions have higher reported well‐being than those who are more accepting of such actions, after controlling for factors identified in the literature as important correlates of happiness and well‐being. The effect of ethics on happiness is roughly similar to that of a modest increase in income, being married and attending church, while the effect is smaller than that of having poor health or being dissatisfied with one's personal finances.