Richard Easterlin

Richard Ainley Easterlin (January 12, 1926 – December 16, 2024) was an American economist. A professor of economics at the University of Southern California, he is best known for the economic theory named after him, the Easterlin paradox. Another of his contributions is the Easterlin hypothesis about long waves of baby booms and busts. Quotes Each person acts on the assumption that more money will bring more happiness; and, indeed, if he does get more money, and others do not (or get less), his happiness increases. But when everyone acts on this assumption and incomes generally increase, no one, on the average, feels better off. Yet each person goes on, generation after generation, unaware of the self-defeating process in which he is caught up. "Does Money Buy Happiness", The Public Interest, New York, vol. 30 (Winter 1973) p. 10. Reported in O. W. Markley and Willis W. Harman (eds.) Changing Images of Man (Pergamon Press, 1982) ch. 3, p. 52 External links Category:Economists from the United States Category:1926 births Category:2024 deaths Category:People from New Jersey Category:University of Pennsylvania faculty