The present paper addresses the question of how to estimate a social welfare function defined over inflation and unemployment that can help inform the policy decisions of central banks by providing a way to measure the well-being costs arising from macroeconomic fluctuations.

A literature review of how formal institutions affect self-reported well-being.

Striking differences in economic outcomes exist within New Zealand for Māori relative to the non-Māori population. This paper analyses whether certain beliefs and values differ systematically between Māori and non-Māori, while recognising that there is not a uniform culture for either group. Many of the beliefs and values we examine have been linked to the...

Beliefs are one component of culture. Data from the World Values Survey is available on a subset of beliefs concerning (broadly) meritocracy and poverty that appear relevant for economics. We document how they vary as well as their distribution across countries. We then correlate these measures of beliefs with economic growth and compare them with...