Several scholars have argued that because of problems associated with the use of a uniform "objective" standard in assessments of well-being, more attention should be given to persons' own judgments of well-being. This article develops a conceptual mapping of processes involved in judgments of income adequacy and then tests a number of derived hypotheses with data from a probability sample of older adults. The results indicate that relative standing as well as health status, household size, and level of income have independent effects on judgments of income adequacy; that income is endogenous to the judgment process; that effects of demographic variables and labor supply are sensitive to that endogeneity; and that as older adults age, they tend to discount needs relative to available income. Even under conditions of poverty, there is a strong bias toward positive judgments of adequacy.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
Ackerman, Norleen
and Beatrice Paolucci. 1983. "Objective and Subjective Income Adequacy."Social Indicators Research12:25-48.
2.
Adorno, Theodor W.
[1964] 1973. The Jargon of Authenticity. Translated by Knut Tarnowski and Frederic Will. Evanston, IL: Northwestern University Press.
3.
Alves, Wayne M.
and Peter H. Rossi. 1978. "Who Should Get What?"American Journal of Sociology84:541-564.
4.
Argyle, Michael
. 1987. The Psychology of Happiness. New York: Methuen.
5.
Atkinson, A. B.1987. "Income Maintenance and Social Insurance." Pp. 779-889 in Handbook of Public Economics, edited by Alan Auerbach and Martin Feldstein. Amsterdam: North-Holland.
6.
Balkwell, James W.1991. "From Expectations to Behavior: An Improved Postulate for Expectation-States Theory."American Sociological Review56:355-369.
7.
Blackorby, Charles
and David Donaldson. 1991. "Adult-Equivalence Scales, Interpersonal Comparisons of Well-Being, and Applied Welfare Economics." Pp. 164-199 in Interpersonal Comparisons of Well-Being, edited by Jon Elster and John H. Roemer. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.
8.
Berger, Joseph
, David G. Wagner, and Morris Zelditch, Jr.1985. "Expectation-States Theory." Pp. 1-72 in Status, Rewards, and Influence, edited by Joseph Berger and Morris Zelditch, Jr.San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
9.
Brickman, Philip
and Ronnie Janoff Bulman. 1977. "Pleasure and Pain in Social Comparison." Pp. 149-186 in Social Comparison Processes, edited by Jerry M. Suls and Robert L. Miller. Washington, DC: Hemisphere.
10.
Brickman, Philip
and Donald T. Campbell. 1971. "Hedonic Relativism and Planning the Good Society." Pp. 287-302 in Adaptation-Level Theory, edited by Mortimr H. Appley. New York: Academic Press.
11.
Brickman, Philip
, Dan Coates, and Ronnie Janoff Bulman. 1978. "Lottery Winners and Accident Victims."Journal of Personality and Social Psychology36:917-927.
12.
Campbell, Angus
, Philip E. Converse, and Willard D. Rodgers. 1976. The Quality of American Life. New York: Russell Sage.
13.
Crosby, Faye J.1982. Relative Deprivation and Working Women. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press.
14.
Doyal, Len
and Ian Gough. 1991. A Theory of Human Need. New York: Guilford.
15.
Easterlin, Richard A.1974. "Does Economic Growth Improve the Human Lot?" Pp. 89-125 in Nations and Households in Economic Growth, edited by Paul A. David and Melvin S. Reder. New York: Academic Press.
16.
Ekerdt, David J.
and Stanley DeViney. 1993. "Evidence for a Preretirement Process Among Older Male Workers."Journal of Gerontology48:S35-S43.
17.
Elster, Jon
and John E. Roemer, eds. 1991. Interpersonal Comparisons of Well-Being. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.
18.
Even, William E.1988. "Testing Exogeneity in a Probit Model."Economics Letters26:123-128.
19.
Feagin, Joe
. 1975. Subordinating the Poor. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall.
20.
Festinger, Leon
. 1954. "A Theory of Social Comparison Processes."Human Relations7:117-140.
21.
Fox, Craig R.
and Daniel, F. Kahneman. 1992. "Correlations, Causes, and Heuristics in Surveys of Life Satisfaction."Social Indicators Research27:221-234.
22.
Frank, Robert H.1985. Choosing the Right Pond. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press.
23.
Freeman, Linton C.1992. "Filling in the Blanks: A Theory of Cognitive Categories and the Structure of Social Affiliation."Social Psychological Quarterly55:118-127.
24.
Fuchs, Victor R.1967. "Redefining Poverty and Redistributing Income."The Public Interest8:88-95.
25.
Glatzer, Wolfgang
. 1991. "Quality of Life in Advanced Industrial Counties." Pp. 261-279 in Subjective Well-Being, edited by Fritz Strack, Michael Argyle, and Norbert Schwarz. Oxford, UK: Pergamon.
26.
Godfrey, L. G.1988. Misspecification Tests in Econometrics. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.
27.
Gough, Ian
. 1979. The Political Economy of the Welfare State. London, UK: Macmillan.
28.
Hardy, Melissa A.
and Lawrence Hazelrigg. 1993. "The Gender of Poverty in an Aging Population."Research on Aging15:243-278.
29.
Haug, Marie R.
and Steven J. Folmar. 1986. "Longevity, Gender, and Life Quality."Journal of Health and Social Behavior27:332-345.
30.
Hirschman, Albert O.1986. Rival Hews of Market Society. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
31.
Homans, George C.1950. The Human Group. New York: Harcourt, Brace, & World.
32.
Hurd, Michael D.1990. "Research on the Elderly: Economic Status, Retirement, and Consumption and Saving."Journal of Economic Literature28:565-637.
33.
Iribame, Philippe d'.1974. "The Relationships Between Subjective and Objective Well-Being." Pp. 33-44 in Subjective Elements of Well-Being, edited by Burkhard Strumpel. Paris: Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development.
34.
Jasso, Guillermina
and Peter H. Rossi. 1977. "Distributive Justice and Earned Income."American Sociological Review42:639-651.
35.
Kahneman, Daniel
and Dale T. Miller. 1986. "Norm Theory: Comparing Reality to Its Alternatives."Psychological Review93:136-153.
36.
Kahneman, Daniel
and Carol Varey. 1991. "Notes on the Psychology of Utility." Pp. 127-163 in Interpersonal Comparisons of Well-Being, edited by Jon Elster and John E. Roemer. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.
37.
Kapteyn, Arie
, Sara van de Geer, and Huib van de Stadt. 1985. "The Impact of Changes in Income and Family Composition on Subjective Measures of Well-Being." Pp. 35-64 in Horizontal Equity, Uncertainty, and Economic Well-Being, edited by Martin David and Timothy Smeeding. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
38.
Kluegel, James R.
and Eliot R. Smith. 1986. Beliefs About Inequality. New York: Aldine.
39.
Korpi, Walter
. 1980. "Approaches to the Study of Poverty in the United States." Pp. 287-314 in Poverty and Public Policy, edited by Vincent T. Covello. Cambridge, MA: Schenkman.
40.
Lampman, Robert J.1973. "What Does It Do for the Poor?"The Public Interest34:66-82.
41.
Lucas, Robert E., Jr.1987. "Adaptive Behavior and Economic Theory." Pp. 217-242 in Rational Choice: The Contrast Between Economics and Psychology, edited by Robin M. Hogarth and Melvin W. Reder. Chiacgo: University of Chicago Press.
42.
Maddala, G. S.1983. Limited-Dependent and Qualitative Variables in Econometrics. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.
43.
McGuire, William J.1989. "The Structure of Individual Attitudes and Attitude Systems." Pp. 37-71 in Attitude Structure and Function, edited by Anthony R. Pratkanis, Steven J. Breckler, and Anthony G. Greenwald. Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.
44.
Michalos, Alex C.1980. "Satisfaction and Happiness."Social Indicators Research8:385-422.
45.
Michalos, Alex C.1982. "The Satisfaction and Happiness of Some Senior Citizens in Rural Ontario."Social Indicators Research11:1-30.
46.
Nock, Steven L.
, and Peter H. Rossi. 1978. "Ascription Versus Achievement in the Attribution of Family Social Status."American Journal of Sociology84:565-590.
47.
Orshansky, Mollie
. 1965. "Counting the Poor: Another Look at the Poverty Profile."Social Security Bulletin28:3-29.
48.
Pearson, Robert W.
, Michael Ross, and Robyn M. Dawes. 1992. "Personal Recall and the Limits of Retrospective Questions in Surveys." Pp. 65-94 in Questions About Questions, edited by Judith M. Tanur. New York: Russell Sage.
49.
Piven, Frances F.
, and Richard A. Cloward. 1971. Regulating the Poor. New York: Pantheon.
50.
Quinn, Joseph F.1987. "The Economic Status of the Elderly: Beware of the Mean."Review of Income and Wealth33:63-82.
51.
Rosch, Eleanor
and Barbara B. Lloyd. 1978. Cognition and Categorization. Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.
52.
Ross, Michael
. 1989. "Relation of Implicit Theories to the Construction of Personal Histories."Psychological Review96:341-357.
53.
Rowntree, Seebohm
. 1901. Poverty: A Study of Town Life. London, UK: Macmillan.
54.
Sawhill, Isabel V.1988. "Poverty in the United States."Journal of Economic Literature26:1073-1119.
55.
Schram, Sanford F.1995. Words of Welfare. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press.
56.
Schwarz, Norbert
and Fritz Strack. 1991. "Evaluating One's Life: A Judgment Model of Subjective Well-Being." Pp. 27-47 in Subjective Well-Being, edited by Fritz Strack, Michael Argyle, and Norbert Schwarz. Oxford, UK: Pergamon.
57.
Sen, Amartya
. 1977. "On Weights and Measures."Econometrica45:1539-1572.
58.
Sen, Amartya.1982. Choice, Welfare and Measurement. Oxford, UK: Blackwell.
59.
Sen, Amartya.1985. "Well-Being, Agency and Freedom."Journal of Philosophy82:169-221.
60.
Sen, Amartya.1987. On Ethics and Economics. Oxford, UK: Blackwell.
61.
Sen, Amartya.1992. Inequality Reexamined. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
62.
Sheppard, Harold L.
and Richard E. Mantovani. 1982. Hard-Strapped and Well-Off Retirees: A Study in Perceived Income Adequacy. Washington, DC: National Council on Aging.
63.
Sherman, Steven J.
and Eric Corty. 1984. "Cognitive Heuristics." Pp. 189-286 in Handbook of Social Cognition, vol. 1, edited by Robert S. Wyer, Jr., and Thomas K. Srull. Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.
64.
Simmel, Georg
. 1923. Soziologie. 3d ed.Leipzig, Germany: Duncker & Humblot.
65.
Smeeding, Timothy M.1991. "Cross-National Patterns of Retirement and Poverty Among Men and Women in the 1980s." Working Paper No. 69, Luxembourg Income Study, Syracuse University, Syracuse, NY
66.
Strumpel, Burkhard
. 1974. "Economic Well-Being as an Object of Social Measurement." Pp. 75-122 in Subjective Elements of Well-Being, edited by B. Strumpel. Paris: Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development.
67.
Tajfel, Henri
. 1981. Human Groups and Social Categories. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.
68.
Titmuss, Richard M.1974. Social Policy. London, UK: Allen & Unwin.
69.
Turner, John C.1987. Rediscovering the Social Group: A Self-Categorization Theory. Oxford, UK: Blackwell.
70.
Tversky, Abraham
and Dale Griffin. 1991. "Endowment and Contrast in Judgments of Well-Being." Pp. 101-118 in Subjective Well-Being, edited by Fritz Strack, Michael Argyle, and Norbert Schwarz. Oxford, UK: Pergamon.
71.
U.S. Bureau of the Census
. 1992. Poverty in the United States: 1991. Current Population Reports, Series P-60, No. 181. Washington, DC: U. S. Government Printing Office.
72.
van Praag, Bernard M. S.1993. "The Relativity of the Welfare Concept." Pp. 362-385 in The Quality of Life, edited by Martha Nussbaum and Amartya Sen. Oxford, UK: Clarendon.
73.
Young, Iris Marion
. 1990. Justice and the Politics of Difference. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.
