Monday, October 20, 2003
A lasting marriage is worth £60,000
A lasting marriage brings as much happiness as having an additional 60,000 of pounds income, according to a new research report on levels of happiness entitled "Well Being in Britain and the US".
The study, by economists Professor Andrew Oswald at the University of Warwick, and David Blanchflower at Dartmouth College USA, found that despite a decline over the last quarter century in the number of married people, those who are married report much higher happiness levels than the unmarried. The authors examined the lives of 100,000 randomly sampled people in Great Britain and the US.
Professor Oswald says that this result is being confirmed by studies worldwide. In virtually every country ever studied, workers who are married earn between 10% and 20% more than those who are single. This figure holds after many other influences are factored out.
A lasting marriage brings as much happiness as having an additional 60,000 of pounds income, according to a new research report on levels of happiness entitled "Well Being in Britain and the US".
The study, by economists Professor Andrew Oswald at the University of Warwick, and David Blanchflower at Dartmouth College USA, found that despite a decline over the last quarter century in the number of married people, those who are married report much higher happiness levels than the unmarried. The authors examined the lives of 100,000 randomly sampled people in Great Britain and the US.
Professor Oswald says that this result is being confirmed by studies worldwide. In virtually every country ever studied, workers who are married earn between 10% and 20% more than those who are single. This figure holds after many other influences are factored out.
