The Paradox of Unhappy Economic Growth: Is the U.S. An Outlier?

Typically, income is positively related to happiness and other well-being measures, even with diminishing returns. The relationship is weaker, but positive, when comparing within-country income changes with wellbeing changes. Yet new evidence suggests that most subjective well-being measures have been declining in the U.S., while income per capita continues to rise faster than in most countries. Are U.S. trends unique among middle- and high-income countries? Based on Gallup World Poll data we find that the U.S. has among the worst trends in the world on trust, hope, and freedom and worse than average “efficiency” in converting income gains into improved well-being. While U.S. trends fit into a new pattern in which well-being in Western nations is declining compared to those in other regions, the U.S. case is more extreme. The decline in Western well-being also varies across specific measures, suggesting that different factors may drive the U.S. trends.