Analyses of Human Behavior and Social Issues Based on Bioeconomics and Happiness Studies

2019 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 26380243
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Section: 一般
• Research Field: Economic theory
• Research Institution: Meikai University
• Principal Investigator: Kageyama Junji 明海大学, 経済学部, 教授 (50337490)
• Project Period (FY): 2014-04-01 – 2020-03-31
• Keywords: 選好 / 生物学的基礎付け / 効用 / 幸福度 / 満足度 / 子ども / 年齢変化

Outline of Final Research Achievements

This research aims to analyze human nature, including preferences and utilities, based on bioeconomics and happiness studies. Specifically, this research uses evolutionary theory to deduce human nature and tests the hypotheses with happiness studies.
The most important findings in this research are as follows. First, the utility function we use in economics is age-dependent, and the additional impact of income/consumption on utility/happiness is largest in adulthood. Second, the pure effect of having children on happiness is not necessarily negative, as suggested in the happiness literature. This finding supports the bio-evolutionary perspective that having children contributes to one’s fitness. These results point to the effectiveness of our approach.

Free Research Field

生物経済学、幸福度研究

Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements

経済学が目指す方向の1つとして「経済学の自然科学化」がある。すなわち、経済学的分析の出発点となる選好を生物学に基礎付け、人間行動や社会現象の分析をより精緻化しようとする試みである。
本研究では、このような試みの有効性を示すことができた。特に効用関数は年齢依存性については、生物学的に基礎付けた上で幸福度研究を用いて実証することができたと言える。このような研究を蓄積することが、経済学の有効性を高めることにつながると考えられる。