Review 1: Obesity, Unhappiness, and The Challenge of Affluence: Theory and Evidence
基于英国和德国数据，发现富裕社会中心理困扰上升，肥胖与不快乐相关，并提出肥胖模仿理论，强调相对体重影响效用。
Is affluence a good thing? The book "The Challenge of Affluence" by Avner Offer (2006) argues that economic prosperity weakens self-control and undermines human well-being. Consistent with a pessimistic view, we show that psychological distress has been rising through time in modern Great Britain. Taking over-eating as an example, our data reveal that half the British population view themselves as overweight, and that happiness and mental health are worse among fatter people in Britain and Germany. Comparisons also matter. We discuss problems of inference and argue that longitudinal data are needed. We suggest a theory of obesity imitation where utility depends on relative weight. Copyright 2007 The Author(s). Journal compilation Royal Economic Society 2007.