Wealth(s) and Subjective Well-Being

1. Front Matter

   Pages i-xiii

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2. Why Wealth Matters More Than Income for Subjective Well-being?

   • Gaël Brulé, Christian Suter

   Pages 1-13

3. Wealth and SWB: Theoretical, Conceptual and Historical Considerations

   1. Front Matter

      Pages 15-15

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   2. Private Wealth and Happiness

      • Antje Jantsch, Ruut Veenhoven

      Pages 17-50

   3. What Determines Subjective Material Well-Being?

      • M. Joseph Sirgy

      Pages 51-66

   4. Jeremy Bentham, Utility, and the Golden Triangle of Happiness

      • Robert A. Cummins

      Pages 67-83

4. Wealth and SWB: Methodological Considerations

   1. Front Matter

      Pages 85-85

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   2. Wealth and Partial Wealth

      • Peter Krause

      Pages 87-128

   3. Innovating on Methods to Understand the Relationship Between Finances and Wellbeing

      • Neil McHugh, Olga Biosca, Rachel Baker, Fatma Ibrahim, Cam Donaldson

      Pages 129-144

5. Household Wealth and SWB: Empirical Findings

   1. Front Matter

      Pages 145-145

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   2. Affluence: More Relative Than Absolute

      • Mariano Rojas

      Pages 147-166

   3. Wealth Influences Life Satisfaction More Than Income: A Supplement to The Easterlin Paradox

      • Bruce Headey

      Pages 167-182

   4. Does Money Buy Happiness? Associations Between Family Wealth and Levels of Wellbeing of Young Australians

      • Jenny Chesters

      Pages 183-198

   5. The Four Forms of Wealth and Happiness: How Different Forms of Wealth Affect the Subjective Well-being of the Elderly in Europe

      • Gaël Brulé, Laura Ravazzini

      Pages 199-219

   6. Wealth and Well-being in the United States

      • Elizabeth C. Burland

      Pages 221-245

   7. Is Philanthropy a Way for the Wealthy to Convert Wealth into Happiness? Preliminary Exploration in France

      • Charles Sellen

      Pages 247-278

6. Housing Wealth and SWB: Empirical Findings

   1. Front Matter

      Pages 279-279

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   2. Housing Tenure, Housing Wealth and Subjective Wellbeing in Australia: The Case of Unemployment

      • Stéfanie André, Caroline Dewilde, Ruud Muffels

      Pages 281-304

   3. Are Homeowners Happier than Tenants? Empirical Evidence for Switzerland

      • Yvonne Seiler Zimmermann, Gabrielle Wanzenried

      Pages 305-321

7. National Wealth and SWB: Empirical Findings

   1. Front Matter

      Pages 323-323

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This volume examines the impact of wealth on quality of life and subjective well-being (SWB). As wealth is related to economic, environmental and social features of societies, this volume serves as an important resource in understanding economic and SWB. It further discusses a variety of experiences and consequences of inequalities of wealth. Through the availability of wealth data in recent international surveys, this volume explores the multiple relations between wealth and SWB. Structured around four main pillars the book presents analysis of the topic at various levels such as theoretical and conceptual, methodological and empirically, ending with a section on distribution and policies. 

• Consumption and Subjective Well-Being
• Economic Resources and Subjective Well-Being
• Empirical Findings on Wealth and Subjective Well-Being
• Home Ownership and Subjective Well-Being
• Impact of Wealth Changes on Subjective Well-Being
• Influences of Income and Wealth on SWB
• Measurement of Poverties and Wealth
• Methodological Considerations on Wealth and SWB
• Personal Wealth and Happiness
• Relationship between Divorce and Subjective Well-Being
• Wealth and Resilience
• Wealth Distributions and Policies

“A much needed book. … the volume is comprehensive, an impressive breadth of coverage. … Brulé and Suter (2019) will be an important reference for happiness scholars, and there are many ways to build upon and extend this useful book. One may often steer away from edited volumes as not as scientific as journals, but this collection is important with multiple solid pieces.” (Adam Okulicz-Kozaryn, Journal of Happiness Studies, Vol. 23 (2), 2022)

• University of Neuchâtel, Neuchâtel, Switzerland

  Gaël Brulé, Christian Suter

Gaël Brulé (PhD) is a post-doc researcher in happiness studies at University of Neuchâtel and Erasmus University of Rotterdam. His areas of expertise are sociology, cross-cultural comparison and happiness.


Christian Suter (PhD) is a professor of sociology at the university of Neuchâtel. His areas of expertise are among others: sociology, social indicators, social inequalities and subjective well-being.

Policies and ethics