Research interests:

Applied microeconometrics.  Labour economics.  Health economics.  Development economics.  Happiness and Health.  Economics of education.

Peer-reviewed Publications (International):

2009

"I Can't Smile Without You: Spousal Correlation in Life Satisfaction", Journal of Economic Psychology, forthcoming

"How Much Does Money Really Matter? Estimating the Causal Effects of Income on Happiness", Empirical Economics, forthcoming

"Daughters and Leftwing Voting" with Andrew Oswald, The Review of Economics and Statistics, forthcoming

"How Important is Rank to Individual Perception of Economic Standing? A Within-Community Analysis", Journal of Economic Inequality, forthcoming

"The Socio-economic Gap in University Drop Out", with Anna Vignoles, The B.E. Journal of Economic Analysis & Policy, Vol. 9: Iss. 1 (Topics), Article 19.

Book review: "Bernard Van Praag and Ada Ferrer-i-Carbonell's Happiness Quantified: A Satisfaction Calculus Approach. Revised Version. Oxford University Press", Journal of Economic Literature, 47(1), 204-207 

"Think having children will make you happy?", The Psychologist, 22(4), 308-311. (MP3)

"Ill-Health as a Household Norm: Evidence from Other People's Health Problems", Social Science & Medicine, 68, 251-259

2008

"Death, Happiness, and the Calculation of Compensatory Damages", with Andrew Oswald, Journal of Legal Studies, 37(S2), June, S217-S252

"Does Happiness Adapt? A Longitudinal Study of Disability with Implications for Economists and Judges", with Andrew Oswald, Journal of Public Economics, 92, 1061-1077

"Putting a Price Tag on Friends, Relatives, and Neighbours: Using Surveys of Life-Satisfaction to Value Social Relationships", Journal of Socio-Economics, 37(4), 1459-1480 

"Mental Health of Parents and Life Satisfaction of Children: A Within-Family Analysis of Intergenerational Transmission of Well-Being", with Anna Vignoles, Social Indicators Research, 88(3), 397-422

2007

"Feeling Richer or Poorer than Others: A Cross-sectional and Panel Analysis of Subjective Economic Status in Indonesia", Asian Economic Journal, 21(2), 169-194

"Obesity, Unhappiness, and The Challenge of Affluence: Theory and Evidence", with Andrew Oswald, Economic Journal, 117 (June), F441-454

"Are There Geographical Variations in the Psychological Costs of Unemployment in South Africa?", Social Indicators Research, 80(3), 629-652

"Happiness and the Standard of Living: The Case of South Africa" In (eds) Bruni, L. and Porta, P.L. (eds) Handbook on the Economics of Happiness (pp. 447-486). Edward Elgar: UK 

2005

"Unhappiness and Crime: Evidence from South Africa", Economica, 72, 531-547

Peer-reviewed Publication (Thailand)

2007

"Economics of Happiness: A Review of Literature and Applications", forthcoming in Chulalongkorn Journal of Economics

"Causal Analysis in Happiness Research", to be published in a special happiness issue in Chulalongkorn Journal of Economics 

Working papers:

1) Economics and Psychology of Happiness

"Destruction and Distress: Using a Quasi-Experiment to Show the Effects of the September 11 Attacks on Subjective Well-Being in the UK", with Robert Metcalfe and Paul Dolan, April 2009

"Anticipation, Free Rider Problem, and Adaptation to Trade Union: Re-examining the Curious Case of Dissatisfied Union Members", February 2009

"Electing Happiness: Does Happiness Affect Voting and Do Elections Really Affect Happiness?", with Paul Dolan and Robert Metcalfe, October 2008

"What Happens to People After Moderate and Serious Disability? A Longitudinal Study of Different Areas of Life", this version - June 2008

"Thinking About It: A Note on Attention and Well-Being Losses from Unemployment", with Paul Dolan, March 2008.

"Is the Structure of Happiness Equations the Same in Rich and Poor Countries?  The Case of South Africa", April 2003

2) Economics of Education

"Succeeding in Higher Education: A Widening Participation Issue", with Anna Vignoles 2007

"Using Rate of Return Analyses to Understand Sector Skill Needs", with Anna Vignoles 2006

3) Other writings

"Behavioural Economics and Public Policy: Lessons for Effective and Efficient Developmental Schemes", November 2008

Presentations: