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Scientific papers

Popular Outlets

Peer-reviewed
publications.

Cowden, R., ... Macchia, L., ... Johnson, B. R., & VanderWeele, T. J. (2026).​​​​​

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Longitudinal associations of suffering with subsequent multidimensional well-being in the

Global Flourishing Study. Communications Medicine.​​​

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Macchia, L., & Delany, L., Daly, M. (2025).

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Pain predicts being out of work especially for those with low job control: Longitudinal analysis of adults in Australia. Occupational and Environmental Medicine, 0, 320-325. 

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Macchia, L., Delany, L., & Daly, M. (2025).​

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The prospective association between life satisfaction and physical pain: Evidence from longitudinal and cohort data. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 0(0). 

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VanderWeele, T. J., Johnson, B. R., … Macchia, L., … (2025). 

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The Global Flourishing Study: Study profile and initial results on flourishing. Nature Mental Health, 3, 636-653. 

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Macchia, L., Daly, M., & Delaney, L. (2024).

 

Global pain levels before and during the COVID-19 pandemic. Economics & Human Biology, 52, 101337.

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Tang, C.K., Macchia, L., & Powdthavee, N. (2023).

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Income is more protective against pain in more equal countries. Social Science & Medicine, 333, 116181. Random author order.

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Macchia, L. (2023).

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Understanding despair: The role of physical pain. American Journal of Health Promotion, 137(6).​​​

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Proulx, J., Macchia, L., & Aknin, L. (2023).

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Can repeated and reflective prosocial experiences in sport increase generosity in adolescent athletes? Journal of Positive Psychology, 1-29.​​​​​​​

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Macchia, L. (2022).

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Pain trends and pain growth disparities, 2009-2021. Economics & Human Biology, 47, 101200.​​​​

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Macchia, L., & Ariely, D. (2021).

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Eliciting preferences for redistribution across domains: A study on wealth, education, and health. Analyses of Social Issues and Public Policy, 21, 1141-1166.​

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Macchia, L., & Whillans, A.V.

(2019).

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Leisure beliefs and the subjective well-being of nations. Journal of Positive Psychology, 16(2), 198-206.​​​​​​​

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Tang, C.K, Powdthavee, N., & Macchia, L. (2025).​​​​​

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Rising temperatures and physical pain: Evidence from over 2 million U. S. residents. Ecological Economics, 241, 108871.

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Macchia, L., & Fett, A. K. (2025).

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The association between loneliness and pain, and the role of physical health and distress: An analysis in 139 countries. Scientific Reports, 15, 30554. 

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Macchia, L., Okafor, C.N., Breedlove, T., ...,  Johnson, B. R., & VanderWeele, T. J.. (2025).​

Demographic variation in pain across 22 countries. Communications Medicine, 5, 154. 

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Farmer, J., Macchia, L., Bu, F., Gong, j., Steptoe, A., Demakakos, P., & Kubzansky, L.D.  (2025).

Prosocial intentions and subsequent cognitive health: A prospective cohort study. The Journals of Gerontology: Series B, gbaf004.

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Daly, M., & Macchia, L.

(2023).​​

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Global trends in emotional distress, 2009-2021. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 120(14), e2216207120.

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Macchia, L. (2023).​

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Having less than others is painful: Income rank and pain around the world. Social Psychological and Personality Science, 15(2), 215-224.

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Macchia, L., Farmer, J.,
& Kubzansky, L. D. (2023).

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Prosocial behaviour helps to ease physical pain: Longitudinal evidence from Britain. Journal of Psychosomatic Research, 169, 111325.​​​​​

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Ruggeri, K., ... Macchia, L., ...,
& Garcia-Garzon, E. (2022).

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The globalizability of temporal discounting. Nature Human Behaviour, 6(10), 1386–1397.​​​​

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Macchia, L., & Oswald, A. (2021).

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Physical pain, gender, and the state of the economy in 146 nations. Social Science & Medicine, 287, 114332.​​​

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Macchia, L., Plagnol, A.C.,
& Powdthavee, N. (2020).

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Buying happiness in an unequal world: Rank of income more strongly predicts wellbeing in unequal countries. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 46(5), 769-780.

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Macchia, L., & Plagnol, A.C.

(2019).

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Life satisfaction and confidence in national institutions: Evidence from South America. Applied Research in Quality of Life, 14(3), 721-736.​​

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Macchia, L., & Oswald, A. (2025).

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National worry and the psychological value of social spending. Review of Income and Wealth, 71:e70039

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Macchia, L., Okafor, C.N., Breedlove, T., ...,  Johnson, B. R., & VanderWeele, T. J. (2025).

A cross-national analysis of childhood predictors of physical pain. Communications Medicine, 5, 337.

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Macchia, L., Kaats, M., Johnson, B. R., & VanderWeele, T. J. (2025).

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Physical pain as a component of subjective wellbeing. Scientific Reports, 15, 14355

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Ruggeri, K., Stock, F., Haslam, S.A., … Macchia, L., … Van Bavel, J. J., & Willer, R. (2024).

A synthesis of evidence for policy from behavioral science during COVID-19. Nature, 625, 134–147.

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Macchia, L. (2023).

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Governments should measure pain when assessing societal wellbeing. Nature Human Behaviour, 7, 303–305.​

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Macchia, L., Daly, M., & Delaney, L. (2023).

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The effect of adverse employment circumstances on physical pain: Evidence from Australian panel data. Preventive Medicine, 173, 107574.​​​

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Macchia, L., Plagnol, A.,
& Easterlin, R. (2023).

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Trends and fluctuations in financial satisfaction and macroeconomic indicators in Latin America. International Journal of Happiness and Development, 8(3), 295-312.

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Gonzalez, A., Macchia, L.,
& Whillans, A.V. (2022).

 

The developmental origins and behavioural consequences of attributions for inequality. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 101, 104329.​​

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Macchia, L., & Whillans, A.V.

(2021).

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The link between income, income inequality, and prosocial behaviour around the world: A multiverse approach. Social Psychology, 52(6), 375–386.​

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Whillans, A.V, Macchia, L., & Dunn, E. (2019).

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Valuing time over money predicts happiness after a major life transition: A pre-registered longitudinal study of graduating students. Science Advances, 5, 9.​

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Macchia, L., Plagnol, A.C.,
& Reimers, S. (2018).

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Does experience with high inflation affect intertemporal decision making? Sensitivity to inflation rates in Argentine and British delay discounting choices. Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Economics, 75, 76–83.

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Book chapters and
other work.

Macchia, L. (2026).

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Review for The Happiness Revolution in Europe by: Richard A. Easterlin and Kelsey J. O’Connor Published 2025 by Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK. International Journal of Happiness and Development, 10(1).

Website

Plagnol, A.C., & Macchia, L. (2018).

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Economics of subjective well-being: Evaluating the evidence for the Easterlin Paradox. Chapter in: Ayse K. Uskul and Shige Oishi (eds.). Socioeconomic Environment and Human Psychology: Social, Ecological, and Cultural Perspectives. Oxford University Press.

Website

Macchia, L. (2024).

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Physical pain and wellbeing. Chapter in: Brockmann, H. & Fernandez-Urbano, R. (Eds.). Encyclopedia of Happiness, Quality of Life and Subjective Wellbeing. Edward Elgar Publishing.

Website

Macchia, L., & Plagnol, A.C. (2019).

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The subjective well-being political paradox: Evidence from Latin America. Chapter in: Mariano Rojas (ed.). ​The Economics of Happiness: How the Easterlin Paradox Transformed our Understanding of Wellbeing and Progress. Springer.

Website
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