DISQUS

Gil · 4 years ago

If I'm being forced to pay for something, I should definitely get to (at least) see the results of the spending.

Andrew · 4 years ago

I'm sorry, I can't get the whole article and I may have missed something in the abstract, but: where does it say that the women stay happier? The abstract doesn't mention how long after the surgery the surveys were carried out.

Will Wilkinson · 4 years ago

I'm trusting Loewenstein and Frederick in their paper on "Hedonic Adaptation" in the Kahneman, Diener, & Schwarz Well-Being volume. They say, "Young, Nemecek, and Nemecek (1994) found that reported satisfaction [from cosmetic plastic surgery] remained constant."

Eric · 4 years ago

Let's assume that the boob job gives a permanent increase to the recipient's happiness. That still doesn't get us to Will's Benthamite conclusion as the study tells us nothing about whether the happiness comes from relative status. And I'd put at least even money on this being a relative status thing -- my prior is that women are happier to the extent that they look better than other women. As consequence, the effects of breast augmentation on the sum of womens' happiness will be neutral at best.

Gil · 4 years ago

Eric,

You're forgetting to factor in the effect on the sum of men's happiness.

And, also, the fact that this is really just a joke to point out how ridiculous this sort of project is (I hope).

Will Wilkinson · 4 years ago

Eric, I considered the relative status point. But would it be BAD if we had an "arms race" in breast size? Gil, you're right to point out the positive externalities, and the fact that it's a joke.

jjayson · 4 years ago

If breast implants lead to a permanent increase in happiness while things like auto ownership doesn't, then why aren't we subsizing cosmetic surgery.

Thank you Will! A propose a new national strategy of boob jobs for all! And in light of the devastation from Katrina, everybody displaced from Katrina should be able to get them entirely as government expense. It's the least we can do.

Luke Lea · 3 years ago

My comment is beyond the expiration date, but I just discovered your blog. Anyway, in my own life marriage and kids were a much bigger contributor to happiness than income level. I drank the same beer (Heiniken)and had a better sex life when I was young, with an income of $20K/yr, as now, with an income of $100K/yr. True,I don't have the same economic anxieties. OTH, absence of anxiety has a kind of lulling effect: there is a rhythm to happiness, such that you can't separate the bad times from the good. And keep in mind what Aristotle said: happiness is not something that belongs to the moment, but to an entire life well lived. None of this is to disparage the concept of the declining marginal utility of income, or, what is closely related, the concept of a general welfare function for a society as a whole.