Published: Nov 2012

Download Paper

Authors

  • Robert Metcalfe
  • John Feddersen
  • Mark Wooden

JEL Reference: Q51, C23, C81, C83

Working Paper

Subjective Well-Being: Weather Matters; Climate Doesn't

We investigate the impact of short-term weather and long-term climate on self-reported life satisfaction using panel data. We find robust evidence that day-to-day weather variation impacts life satisfaction by a similar magnitude to acquiring a mild disability. Utilizing two sources of variation in the cognitive complexity of satisfaction questions, we present evidence that weather bias arises because of the cognitive challenge of reporting life satisfaction. Consistent with past studies, we detect a relationship between long-term climate and life satisfaction without individual fixed effects. This relationship is not robust to individual fixed effects, suggesting climate does not directly influence life satisfaction. 

Part of the series

Keywords: Life satisfaction, Subjective well-being, Climate change, Weather