Subjective well-being and the gender composition of the reference group: Evidence from a survey experiment
通过随机对照实验，研究人们与同性比较时主观幸福感的变化，发现女性在收入、休闲和健康满意度上提升，而男性影响很小。
This paper tests how people’s subjective well-being reacts when they compare themselves with other people of the same gender, and if this reaction differs between women and men. We implement a randomized control trial prompting some respondents to compare themselves with people of the same gender and leaving the reference group of others unconstrained. Treated women report higher income and leisure satisfaction. Evaluating satisfaction in relation to a given reference group may be cognitively demanding. When accounting for this, we find that the treatment also increases women’s health satisfaction. No or small effects are found for men, suggesting that the reference group affects subjective well-being reporting of men and women differently.