2026 Richard A. Easterlin: Economics and Finance Researcher – H-Index, Publications & Awards

Discipline name	D-Index	World Ranking	National Ranking	Publications	Citations
Economics and Finance	72	406	276	241	43247

Research.com Recognitions

2009 - IZA Prize in Labor Economics, Institute for the Study of Labor
2006 - Distinguished Fellow of the American Economic Association
2002 - Member of the National Academy of Sciences
1988 - Fellow of John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation
1982 - Fellows of the Econometric Society
1978 - Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences

Overview

Richard A. Easterlin was affiliated with the University of Southern California in the United States. Their research primarily focused on psychological well-being and life satisfaction, with an emphasis on the impacts of economic conditions and the COVID-19 pandemic on mental health.

The scientist's main field of study was psychology, with particular attention to social psychology, economics and econometrics, sociology and political science, clinical psychology, and health subfields. Their body of work addressed several research topics including psychological well-being and life satisfaction, COVID-19 and mental health, COVID-19 pandemic impacts, health disparities and outcomes, regional resilience and development, psychological and temporal perspectives research, and youth education and societal dynamics.

Recent publications by Richard A. Easterlin included:

"The Easterlin Paradox," 2020, SSRN Electronic Journal
"Three years of COVID-19 and life satisfaction in Europe: A macro view," 2023, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
"Explaining happiness trends in Europe," 2022, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
"Why Does Happiness Respond Differently to an Increase vs. Decrease in Income?," 2021, SSRN Electronic Journal
"Trends and fluctuations in financial satisfaction and macroeconomic indicators in times of economic changes: the case of Latin America," 2024, International Journal of Happiness and Development

Frequent co-authors included:

Kelsey J. O'Connor
Paul Demeny
Raya Muttarak
Joshua Wilde
Rachel S. Friedman

The main venues for publication were:

SSRN Electronic Journal
Population and Development Review
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
International Journal of Happiness and Development
Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization

Richard A. Easterlin also contributed to academic literature through book publications, including "The Happiness Revolution in Europe," published by Cambridge University Press in 2025.

Awards received included:

IZA Prize in Labor Economics, Institute for the Study of Labor (2009)
Distinguished Fellow of the American Economic Association (2006)
Member of the National Academy of Sciences (2002)
Fellow of John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation (1988)
Fellows of the Econometric Society (1982)
Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences (1978)

Best Publications

Does Economic Growth Improve the Human Lot? Some Empirical Evidence

Richard A. Easterlin

9039
Citations
Will raising the incomes of all increase the happiness of all

Richard A. Easterlin

4057
Citations
Income and Happiness: Towards a Unified Theory

Richard A. Easterlin

3892
Citations
Birth and Fortune: The Impact of Numbers on Personal Welfare

Richard A. Easterlin

2304
Citations
Explaining happiness

Richard A. Easterlin

1643
Citations
The happiness–income paradox revisited

Richard A. Easterlin;Laura Angelescu McVey;Malgorzata Switek;Onnicha Sawangfa

1587
Citations
The Happiness-Income Paradox Revisited

Richard A. Easterlin;Laura Angelescu McVey;Malgorzata Switek;Onnicha Sawangfa

1509
Citations
An economic framework for fertility analysis.

Richard A. Easterlin

1129
Citations
Building a Better Theory of Well-Being

Richard A. Easterlin

1087
Citations
Why Isn't the Whole World Developed?

Richard A. Easterlin

937
Citations
Life cycle happiness and its sources: Intersections of psychology, economics, and demography

Richard A. Easterlin

842
Citations
The fertility revolution: a supply-demand analysis.

Richard A. Easterlin;Eileen M. Crimmins

830
Citations
The American baby boom in historical perspective

Richard A Easterlin

801
Citations
The quality-of-life (QOL) research movement : Past, present, and future

M. Joseph Sirgy;Alex C. Michalos;Abbott L. Ferriss;Richard A. Easterlin

620
Citations
What will 1984 be like? Socioeconomic implications of recent twists in age structure.

Richard A. Easterlin

589
Citations
Birth and fortune

Richard Easterlin

539
Citations
Growth Triumphant: The Twenty-first Century in Historical Perspective

Richard A. Easterlin

537
Citations
China's Life Satisfaction, 1990-2010

Richard A. Easterlin;Robson Morgan;Malgorzata Switek;Fei Wang

524
Citations
China’s life satisfaction, 1990–2010

Richard A. Easterlin;Robson Morgan;Malgorzata Switek;Fei Wang

523
Citations
Happily ever after? Cohabitation, marriage, divorce, and happiness in Germany

Anke C. Zimmermann;Richard A. Easterlin

414
Citations
Birth and Fortune: The Impact of Numbers on Personal Welfare.

James A. Sweet;Richard A. Easterlin

411
Citations
Feeding the Illusion of Growth and Happiness: A Reply to Hagerty and Veenhoven.

Richard A. Easterlin

405
Citations

Frequent Co-Authors

Simon Kuznets University of Pennsylvania

Susan M. Wachter University of Pennsylvania

T. Paul Schultz Yale University

Robert A. Pollak Washington University in St. Louis

Victor R. Fuchs Stanford University

Yasuhiko Saito Nihon University

Alex C. Michalos University of Northern British Columbia

Ansley J. Coale Princeton University

Yi Zeng Peking University

Jan Tinbergen Erasmus University Rotterdam

External Links

Wikipedia of Richard A. Easterlin Personal website of Richard A. Easterlin Google Scholar page

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