Abstract
This paper tackles the problem of the building of a happy high-income society and develops a theoretical approach that leads to a puzzling conclusion, for developed countries engaged in debates about the opportunity of welfare state reforms. For this purpose the paper focuses on the links between cooperation, labor market and growth, taking into account two main interconnected relationships: one between happiness and economic growth and development, and another one where the focal events are employment subsidy-based reforms and basic income-based reforms in the area of welfare state. Drawing on arguments from behavioral economics and welfare state studies, the paper suggests: (a) basic income-based reforms of welfare states may in theory help the building of a happy high-income society; (b) a full development of this building process may however be impeded or delayed by the emergence of self-control dilemmas.
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Acknowledgments
This paper benefited from comments received during a lecture that I had the opportunity to prepare and deliver within the Summer School in the Economics of Culture focused on the theme “Creativity, happiness and growth” and organized, in July 2012, by the School of Economics of the University of Rome “Tor Vergata”. I am also in debt with Frédéric Gannon who kindly read earlier versions of this paper and helped me with useful suggestions. Furthermore, I am particularly grateful to Howard Rachlin, Gianfranco Sabattini and Pasquale Lucio Scandizzo: without their very useful comments and sometimes critical observations this paper wouldn’t have been possible. All remaining errors and omissions are mine.
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Bona, L. (2014). Institutional Creativity for Happy High-Income Societies: Can Basic Income-Based Reforms Help to Build Them?. In: Paganetto, L. (eds) Wealth, Income Inequalities, and Demography. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-05909-9_4
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-05909-9_4
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