Figure 13. Happiness and the Output Gap in the United States
1972. 1976 1980. 1984 1988. 1992. 1996 2000. 2004 2008.
Sources: General Social Survey, 1972-2006; Bureau of Economic Analysis.
Notes: “Output gap” is the difference between real GDP per capita and its trend, estimated using a Hodrick-Prescott filter on annual data on the logarithm of real GDP per capita, with the
smoothing parameter set to 6.25. Happiness data are aggregated into a happiness index by running an ordered probit regression of happiness on year fixed effects. See figure 8 for wording
of the question. See text for details of the sample.
Figures—13