Using Panel Data on Income Satisfaction to Estimate Equivalence Scale Elasticity
利用德国社会经济面板数据中个人对当前收入的满意度，估计等价规模弹性，发现弹性高于其他主观方法，且控制未观测固定效应后弹性下降。
In this paper, the equivalence scale elasticity will be estimated by using individual panel data on income satisfaction from the German Socio‐Economic Panel Study (GSOEP). Satisfaction or happiness data have been more frequently used by economists in recent years to analyze individual well‐being. The approach differs from other subjective approaches as respondents are requested to evaluate current income rather than income in hypothetical situations. The estimated scale elasticity is higher compared to those from other subjective approaches based on German data. In addition, panel data enable different scale use by the respondents to be controlled. It can be shown that elasticity decreases when unobserved fixed‐effects are controlled for.