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Abstract: This paper argues that increasing average incomes and stagnating levels of happiness, as observed in the United States since the 1970s, do not constitute a paradox. First, we show that the effect of higher incomes has been more than counteracted by changes in other socioeconomic variables, notably the prevalence of marriage and divorce. Second, we show that the effect of a given amount of real income on happiness has not changed between the 1970s and the early 2000s. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: The paper examines the macroeconomic effects of social diversity in the United States. Employing a cross-sectional dataset for 48 states, we find mixed empirical evidence for the impact of diversity on Gross State Product (GSP) per capita growth: racial diversity reduces GSP growth, while linguistic diversity raises GSP growth. Our findings suggest that because English is used frequently by non-native speakers barriers to communications based on race are more pronounced and enduring than those based on linguistic differences. The results provide a justification for establishing ‘weak ties’ across diverse racial groups as a means to enhance economic performance. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The relationships among various subsets of economic development, poverty, crime, and/or income inequality have been separately investigated in several theoretical and empirical studies. However, there has been very little empirical analysis on the interdependence among all these variables in one framework. This paper examines the causality between economic development and poverty while incorporating crime and inequality. It employs a co-integration test, a 4-variable vector autoregressive (VAR) model, and a Granger test in the US over the period 1959–2001. Findings reveal a feedback loop mechanism between economic development, poverty, and crime. Interestingly, income inequality as measured by the Gini coefficient has no important impact on any of the variables. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]