澳经济学家发明幸福计算公式

Marriage is worth £18,000 to men, but just £9,000 to women, according to an Australian economist who claims he has discovered a formula to determine the cost of happiness.

Paul Frijters, a professor at Queensland University of Technology, has calculated a formula he claims delivers the monetary equivalent of the value of various milestones in life.

The figures represent a lump sum a person would need to receive out of the blue in order to make him or her as happy as marriage would over a lifetime.

When it comes to divorce, a man would be so devastated it would feel as if he had lost £61,500. A woman would be far less traumatised, feeling as though she had only lost £5,000.

Prof Frijters, who was this year named the best economist aged under 40, has tracked major life events of 10,000 people since 2001.

He said: "These are real people to whom unexpected things happen.

"They were not selected because these things would happen and because of that, we can accurately compare their happiness before and after."

Australians were asked to describe how satisfied they were with their lives on a scale of 0 to 10.

The most common number given was eight - but the answer changed after, and sometimes in anticipation of, major life events and also sudden changes in income.

That enabled Prof Frijters to put cash values on the effects of happiness of major events such as marriage, divorce and illnesses.

He said: "Losing a loved one has a much bigger effect than gaining a loved one. There's a real asymmetry between life and death.

"This shouldn't surprise us. Human beings seem primed to notice losses more than gains."

The death of a partner or child caused a woman £73,000 loss, while to a man, a similar loss was worth more than £350,000, according to the calculations.

Prof Frijters said: "This isn't the value of the life that's lost, that would be much higher of course.

"This is just the effect on the happiness of one person flowing from a death."

Asked why his calculations show men much more affected by life's events than women, the professor could not give a reason, but said: "We know for instance that marriage improves the lives of men much more than women."

Professor Frijters concluded that money had a greater effect on happiness than previously thought.

TABLE

Marriage woman - £8, 726.25 man - £17, 675.68

Birth of child woman - £ 4, 866.77 man - £18, 236.39

Divorce woman - £4, 977.08 (loss) man - £61, 116.46 (loss)

Death of a loved one woman - £73, 204.86 (loss) man - £350, 830.36 (loss)

Illness woman - £28, 124.61(loss) man - £201, 264.68 (loss)

Moving house woman - £1, 453.80 (gain) man - £8, 947.11 (loss)

澳大利亚一名经济学家日前称他发现了一个幸福计算公式。根据该公式，婚姻对于男性的价值相当于1.8万英镑，对于女性相当于九千英镑。

昆士兰科技大学的保罗．弗里吉特斯教授计算出了一个据称可用来衡量人生中的里程碑事件的影响所对等的金钱价值的公式。

这些数目代表一个人需要一下子得到这么多金钱才能获得和婚姻给他（她）一生所带来的同等幸福感。

离婚对于男性来说是个毁灭性的打击，会让他们觉得就像损失了6.15万英镑，而对于女性的影响则要小得多，仅相当于损失了五千英镑。

今年获评四十岁以下杰出经济学家的弗里吉特斯教授从2001年起对一万名受访者的重要人生事件进行了追踪研究。

他说：“这些都是真人真事。”

“我们没有刻意挑选受访者，因为这些事情总会发生，也正因为这一点，我们能精确地比较他们在事发前后的幸福感。”

这些澳大利亚的受访者被要求按照0分至10分对他们的生活满意度进行评级。

最普遍的评分为8，但受访者在经历某个人生重要事件之后评分会发生变化，有时在预料会发生某个重要事件或收入发生突然变化时，评分也会有变。

根据该结果，弗里吉特斯教授用金钱衡量了重大人生事件的幸福效应，如结婚、离异和疾病等。

他说：“失去一个爱人比得到一个新欢所产生的影响大得多，生与死之间确实存在不对等性。”

“我们不应该感到惊讶。与得到的东西相比，人们总是更在意失去的。”

根据该公式计算，伴侣或孩子的逝去对于女性来说相当于损失7.3万英镑，而对于男性来说则相当于损失了35万英镑以上。

弗里吉特斯教授说：“这不是逝去的生命本身的价值，那当然更高。”

“这仅仅是失去某个亲人对于人们幸福感的影响。”

在被问及为什么重大人生事件对于男性的影响大于女性时，弗里吉特斯教授表示无法解释，但他说：“我们知道，结婚对于男性生活的改善大于女性。”

弗里吉特斯教授总结称，金钱对幸福感的影响超过预期。

重大人生事件的价值：

结婚：女性/8, 726.25英镑，男性/17, 675.68英镑

孩子出生：女性/4, 866.77英镑，男性/18, 236.39英镑

离异：女性/-4, 977.08英镑，男性/-61, 116.46英镑

亲人去世：女性/-73, 204.86英镑，男性/-350, 830.36英镑

生病：女性/-28, 124.61英镑，男性/-201, 264.68英镑

搬家：女性/-1, 453.80英镑，男性/-8, 947.11英镑

Vocabulary:

lump sum：a single sum of money that serves as complete payment（一次付的款项）

out of the blue：suddenly and unexpectedly（突然地）

traumatise：to cause a trauma in the mind（受伤害，受精神创伤）

feel as though：觉得，仿佛

asymmetry：lack of balance or symmetry（不对称，不均等）