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  • 2018
  • Working Paper
  • HBS Working Paper Series

Good Credit and the Good Life: Credit Scores Predict Subjective Well-Being

By: Joe J. Gladstone and Ashley V. Whillans
  • Format:Print
  • | Language:English
  • | Pages:23
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Abstract

Can money buy happiness? To examine this question, research in economics, psychology, and sociology has focused almost exclusively on examining the associations between income, spending or wealth and subjective well-being. Moving beyond this research, we provide the first empirical evidence that credit scores uniquely predict happiness. Across two samples, from the United Kingdom (N=615) and the United States (N=768), credit scores predicted life satisfaction even after controlling for a range of financial covariates, including income, spending, savings, debt, and home-ownership. Respondents with higher credit scores felt more optimistic about their future, promoting happiness. Further, the relationship between credit scores and wellbeing was moderated by participants’ prior awareness of their score. Together, these results suggest that creditworthiness can plausibly increase well-being, either directly or indirectly, meaning that interventions to improve creditworthiness could improve consumer welfare.

Keywords

Well-being; Credit Scores; Consumer Finance; Emotions; Credit; Personal Finance; Welfare; Happiness

Citation

Gladstone, Joe J., and Ashley V. Whillans. "Good Credit and the Good Life: Credit Scores Predict Subjective Well-Being." Harvard Business School Working Paper, No. 18-112, June 2018.
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About The Author

Ashley V. Whillans

Negotiation, Organizations & Markets
→More Publications

More from the Authors

    • July 2022
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    The Developmental Origins and Behavioral Consequences of Attributions for Inequality

    By: Antonya Marie Gonzalez, Lucia Macchia and Ashley V. Whillans
    • May 2022
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    Policy Stringency and Mental Health During the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Longitudinal Analysis of Data from 15 Countries

    By: Lara B. Aknin, Bernardo Andretti, Rafael Goldszmidt, John F. Helliwell, Anna Petherick, Jan-Emmanuel De Neve, Elizabeth W. Dunn, Daisy Fancourt, Elkhonon Goldberg, Sarah P. Jones, Ozge Karadag, Elie Karam, Richard Layard, Shekhar Saxena, Emily Thornton, Ashley Whillans and Jamil Zaki
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    • Faculty Research

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More from the Authors
  • The Developmental Origins and Behavioral Consequences of Attributions for Inequality By: Antonya Marie Gonzalez, Lucia Macchia and Ashley V. Whillans
  • Policy Stringency and Mental Health During the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Longitudinal Analysis of Data from 15 Countries By: Lara B. Aknin, Bernardo Andretti, Rafael Goldszmidt, John F. Helliwell, Anna Petherick, Jan-Emmanuel De Neve, Elizabeth W. Dunn, Daisy Fancourt, Elkhonon Goldberg, Sarah P. Jones, Ozge Karadag, Elie Karam, Richard Layard, Shekhar Saxena, Emily Thornton, Ashley Whillans and Jamil Zaki
  • Innovation at Moog Inc. By: Brian J. Hall, Ashley V. Whillans, Davis Heniford, Dominika Randle and Caroline Witten
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