This note provides evidence for the relationship between income comparisons and
subjective well-being (SWB), using novel German data on self-reported comparison intensity
and perceived relative income for seven reference groups. We find negative correlations
between comparison intensity and SWB for colleagues, people in the same occupation and
friends, but not for other reference groups, such as neighbours. Work-related income
comparisons are mostly upwards and there is a strong negative correlation between …