Lifestyle Tradeoffs and the Decline of Societal Well-being: An\n Agent-based Model

2015/07/19 by Christopher Thron, Thron, Chris
Decision Sciences · Economics, Econometrics and Finance · #Innovation Diffusion and Forecasting #Complex Systems and Time Series Analysis

paper · pdf · doi:10.48550/arxiv.1508.03524

Abstract

This paper presents a semi-quantitative mathematical model of the changes\nover time in the statistical distribution of well-being of individuals in a\nsociety. The model predicts that when individuals overvalue the more socially\nconspicuous aspects of well-being in their lifestyle choices, then the average\nwell-being of the overall population may experience continuous decline. In\naddition to trade-off cost and overvaluation, we identify statistical variation\nin individuals' well-being and turnover within the population as key factors\ndriving negative trends. We investigate the influence of the effects of\nheterogeneity in the population, as well as economic and/or technological\nprogress.\n

Related

• Income growth with high inequality implies loss of well-being: A mathematical model
• Towards a Theory of Societal Co-Evolution: Individualism versus\n Collectivism
• Precarity: Modeling the Long Term Effects of Compounded Decisions on\n Individual Instability
• Evolution of global inequality in well-being: A copula-based approach
• Biological Measures of the Standard of Living