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Unit 1 Micro: Sleep, Money, Happiness and Choices!
25th September 2011
Autumn is arriving here in the UK. I cannot have been alone in finding it tough to drag myself out of bed on Friday morning to teach at the end of a tiring week. The marginal utility of an extra hour under a comfy duvet was so appealing, fortunately so too was the prospect of discussing the Greek debt crisis! Here is an interesting choice to put in front of your students - sure to prompt discussion.
Suppose you have the choice of a job that pays $80,000 per year but only lets you get 7.5 hours of sleep a night and a job that pays $120,000 per year but only lets you get 6 hours of sleep a night
(1) Between these two options, taking all things together, which do you think would give you a happier life as a whole?
(2) If you were limited to these two options, which do you think you would choose?
The choice and the two associated questions was posed by behavioural economist Alex Ree-Jones from Cornell University. His results will be published in the American Economic Review. Benjamin, Daniel J., Ori Heffetz, Miles S. Kimball, and Alex Rees-Jones. “What Do You Think Would Make You Happier? What Do You Think You Would Choose?” Forthcoming, American Economic Review. You can find details here.
Geoff Riley
Geoff Riley FRSA has been teaching Economics for over thirty years. He has over twenty years experience as Head of Economics at leading schools. He writes extensively and is a contributor and presenter on CPD conferences in the UK and overseas.