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• Working Paper | HBS Working Paper Series | 2020

  Spreading the Health: Americans' Estimated and Ideal Distributions of Death and Health(care)

  Sorapop Kiatpongsan and Michael I. Norton

  The 2010 Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act intensified debates over the role of government in the distribution of healthcare. A nationally-representative sample of Americans reported their estimated and ideal distributions of healthcare (unmet need for prescription medications) and death (gains in life expectancy). Respondents across the demographic and political spectrum wanted mortality and healthcare to be distributed more evenly among the rich and poor than they estimated them to be. For example, respondents estimated that Americans in the poorest quintile lived 1.5 months longer over the previous 20 years while those in the richest quintile lived 4.7 months longer, but reported ideal figures of 2.5 and 3.6 months – both were far more equal than the actual figures: -1.8 and 7.2 months. Despite heated debates about healthcare, Americans share a consensus belief that current disparities in death and healthcare are far from their ideals.

  Keywords: healthcare; mortality; inequality; justice; equity; Health; Health Care and Treatment; Equality and Inequality; Fairness; Public Opinion; United States;

  Citation:

  Kiatpongsan, Sorapop, and Michael I. Norton. "Spreading the Health: Americans' Estimated and Ideal Distributions of Death and Health(care)." Harvard Business School Working Paper, No. 20-114, April 2020.  View Details

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• Article | Social Psychological & Personality Science

  Time Use and Happiness of Millionaires: Evidence from the Netherlands

  Paul Smeets, A.V. Whillans, Rene Bekkers and Michael I. Norton

  How do the very wealthy spend their time, and how does time use relate to well-being? In two studies in the Netherlands, the affluent (N=863, N=690) and the general population (N=1232, N=306) spent time in surprisingly similar ways, such as by spending the same amount of time working. Yet, the nature of their time-use differed in critical ways that are related to life satisfaction. In Study 1, millionaires spent more time engaged in active leisure (e.g., exercising and volunteering) rather than passive leisure (e.g., watching television and relaxing). In Study 2, millionaires spent more time engaged in tasks at work over which they had more control. The affluent sample belongs to the top of the income and wealth distribution, representing a significantly wealthier sample than in previous studies. These results further our understanding of when and how wealth may translate into greater well-being.

  Keywords: time and wellbeing; wealth; Millionaires; Social Class; Wealth; Happiness; Demographics;

  Citation:

  Smeets, Paul, A.V. Whillans, Rene Bekkers, and Michael I. Norton. "Time Use and Happiness of Millionaires: Evidence from the Netherlands." Social Psychological & Personality Science 11, no. 3 (April 2020): 295–307.  View Details

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• Supplement | HBS Case Collection | February 2016 (Revised March 2020)

  Oberoi Hotels: Train Whistle in the Tiger Reserve

  Ananth Raman and Ryan W. Buell

  Citation:

  Raman, Ananth, and Ryan W. Buell. "Oberoi Hotels: Train Whistle in the Tiger Reserve." Harvard Business School Multimedia/Video Supplement 616-704, February 2016. (Revised March 2020.)  View Details

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