Is Homo Economicus An Ideal to be Pursued? Using US and Japan Survey Data*

Abstract

This study investigated how the various characteristics of Homo economicus (intellectual ability, self-control, selfishness, fairness and pursuit of monetary gain) correlate with individual performance. We adopted income and happiness as measures of individual performance. Using large-scale survey data from Japan and the USA, we found that: (i) generally, Homo economicus is an ideal person from the perspective of economic success; (ii) Homo economicus has many traits that make her/him unhappy; (iii) intellectual ability is a strong trait of Homo economicus for both economic success and happiness; and (iv) the results for Japan and the USA are quite similar.