“The Effects of Income Transparency on Well-Being: Evidence from a Natural Experiment”, 2020-04 (; similar):
In 2001, Norwegian tax records became easily accessible online, allowing everyone in the country to observe the incomes of everyone else. According to the income comparisons model, this change in transparency can widen the gap in well-being between richer and poorer individuals.
Using survey data from 1985–28201311ya and multiple identification strategies, we show that:
the higher transparency increased the gap in happiness between richer and poorer individuals by 29%, and it increased the life satisfaction gap by 21%.
We provide back-of-the-envelope estimates of the importance of income comparisons, and discuss implications for the ongoing debate on transparency policies.