University of Auckland, New Zealand
World of Labour role
Author, Topic spokesperson
Expertise
Welfare state, Unemployment benefits, Health, Well-being, Happiness
Country
New Zealand
Languages
English - Native speaker
Media experience
Print, Radio
r.macculloch@auckland.ac.nz
Phone
64 275249031
Current position
Matthew S. Abel Chair in Macroeconomics, University of Auckland, New Zealand
Positions/functions as a policy advisor
Academic Advisor to the New Zealand Government
Past positions
Research Fellow, The Woodrow Wilson School, Princeton University, USA; Professor of Economics, The Business School, Imperial College London, UK
Qualifications
PhD Economics, University of Oxford, 1997
Selected publications
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“The macroeconomics of happiness.” Review of Economics and Statistics 85:4 (2003): 809–827 (with R. Di Tella and A. Oswald).
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“Why doesn’t capitalism flow to poor countries?” Brookings Papers on Economic Activity 40:1 (2009): 285–332 (with R. Di Tella).
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“The roles of freedom, growth, and religion in the taste for revolution.” Journal of Law and Economics 53:2 (2010): 329–358 (with S. Pezzini).
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“Preferences over inflation and unemployment: Evidence from surveys of happiness.” American Economic Review 91:1 (2001): 335–341 (with R. Di Tella and A. Oswald).
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“Partisan social happiness.” Review of Economic Studies 72:2 (2005): 367–393 (with R. Di Tella).
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Can “happiness data” help evaluate economic policies?
“Happiness data” may help assess the welfare effects of a new labor market policy, like a change in benefit generosity
Robert MacCulloch, January 2016Imagine a government confronted with a controversial policy question, like whether it should cut the level of unemployment benefits. Will social welfare rise as a result? Will some groups be winners and other groups be losers? Will the welfare gap between the employed and unemployed increase? “Happiness data” offer a new way to make these kinds of evaluations. These data allow us to track the well-being of the whole population, and also sub-groups like the employed and unemployed people, and correlate the results with relevant policy changes.Read moreRead less