Matthew Sickinger
Faculty Sponsor: Shyam Gouri Suresh
This paper discusses the impact of a country’s credit rating on the happiness of its people. Economic literature on happiness suggests that there are a multitude of factors affecting happiness at both a country-wide and individual scale. No studies, however, discuss the effect of the perceived economic stability of a country’s government on national happiness. I examine this issue in my paper, and by examining Sovereign Credit Ratings, propose that countries with more financially stable governments will see their happiness improve. My results fail to show a significant relationship between Credit Rating and Happiness.
