Scandinavian Working Papers in Economics

Working Paper Series,
Stockholm University, Swedish Institute for Social Research

No 1/2017: The Association Between Life Satisfaction and Affective Well-Being

Martin Berlin and Filip Fors
Additional contact information
Martin Berlin: Swedish Institute for Social Research, Stockholm University, Postal: SOFI, Stockholm University, SE-106 91 Stockholm, Sweden
Filip Fors: Swedish Institute for Social Research, Stockholm University, Postal: SOFI, Stockholm University, SE-106 91 Stockholm, Sweden

Abstract: We estimate the correlation between life satisfaction and affective (emotional) well-being – two conceptually distinct dimensions of subjective well-being. We propose a simple model that distinguishes between a stable and a transitory component of affective well-being, and which also accounts for measurement error in self-reports of both variables, including current mood-bias effects on life satisfaction judgments. The model is estimated using momentarily measured well-being data, from an experience sampling survey that we conducted on a population sample of Swedes aged 18–50 (n=252). Our main estimates of the correlation between life satisfaction and long-run affective well-being range between 0.78 and 0.91, indicating a stronger convergence between these variables than many previous studies that do not account for measurement issues.

Keywords: Subjective well-being; life satisfaction; affective well-being

38 pages, February 9, 2017

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