“Our friends don’t see us as experts, God bless them,” he said. Ms. Stevenson grabbed a bottle and swigged it down. “But there were these other factors.”, “I disagree with everything Betsey was just saying,” Mr. Wolfers said. What’s more, as countries become richer, their populations don’t become happier. Suddenly, words like “inputs” and “outputs” — the economic kind — creep in. “To get a 10 percent increase in income, you need more dollars than when you are poor.”, Asked for comment, Mr. Easterlin declined to be interviewed but pointed out in an e-mail that their research excluded China and India. They are now writing an introductory economics textbook. When her father, a pilot, left the Air Force, he had trouble finding a job. “That is something that can’t be taught. [9] In 2014, he was named by International Monetary Fund as one of the 25 brightest young economists who are expected to shape the world's thinking about the global economy in the future. the one involving his wife’s accusation that … But when economists fall in love theyre not the same as the rest of us. Although Mr. Wolfers acknowledged having “huge relationship phobia,” because of his parents’ divorce, the couple applied for dozens of jobs together and ended up accepting posts at Wharton. (Why? [6] He is noted for his research on happiness and its relation to income. [10], In 2019, he and his partner, fellow economist Betsey Stevenson, wrote two economics textbooks, Principles of Microeconomics and Principles of Macroeconomics, published by Macmillan Learning. I also liked his Aussie humor about New Zealand. Biden’s top economic adviser warns the economy will be in ‘a much worse place’ without more aid. Their modest celebrity has led to some sniping among their peers — several would not publicly declare their criticism — but their fans are effusive. “Mama,” Matilda interrupted, “stop talking about work.”. But she realized that many of the popular students in high school did not end up having the kind of adult life she wanted. In her third year there, a handsome Australian on a Fulbright scholarship arrived. As @jasonfurman has noted, a 2% cut would yield $5,508 for a high-income couple, but … Betsey Stevenson and Justin Wolfers NBER Working Paper No. “My confidence had been so eroded that I was the one saying, ‘Well, maybe this ...’ But you can’t exist in economics that way,” she said. “So now we are not married,” Mr. Wolfers joked, “but we both have jobs.”, Mr. Wolfers excelled at math from an early age and began studying economics in high school. They have one child, but there are two strollers, a Bugaboo and a Bob baby jogger, parked in the front hall of their stylish home here. Mr. Wolfers enrolled in the University of Sydney and went on to earn the University Medal in economics. You either have it or you don’t have it. If you’re relatively affluent, as they are, they recommend outsourcing child care and domestic chores so you can spend your time on more leisure or economically worthwhile pursuits. Site contains research papers, CV, op-eds, research data, and class syllabi. They have impressive degrees and serious careers and the social markers that go with them. They argue that there is a positive relationship over time and across countries between income and self-reported measures of happiness. Their choice of topics tends to push people’s buttons and to grab the attention even of those who might ignore the latest figures on nonfarm payrolls or industrial capacity utilization. They are shown at home with their daughter, Matilda, and family dog, Max. 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