What’s the Economic Value In Owning A Pet? Here’s the Answer

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What’s the Economic Value In Owning A Pet? Here's the Answer

HOW IN THE WORLD CAN WE GUESS WHAT THE ECONOMIC VALUE IS IN OWNING A PET?

I don’t have a pet at the moment, and haven’t had one in years.  I had a dog briefly as a child.  Briefly, because the dog was half wolf and my mother thought he should have an owner with lots of outside space.  But I also grew up with cats, to such a degree that I learned how to sneak up on them for ambushes they do to each other.  They were family.  But how could you figure out the economic value of family, or even pets-as-family?  Well, apparently there’s now an answer to that question, thanks to a recent study from the London School of Economics.

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RESEARCHERS USED A TRIED AND TRUE METRIC: LIFE SATISFACTION AND WELL-BEING

And you might reflexively balk that such a thing is possible, which I understand.  But the metrics economists use instead of “happiness” are “life satisfaction and well-being.”  And it seems that that metric gave them a foundation to find the answer to what is the economic value in owning a pet(?).  Not surprisingly, the researchers found that pet owners got a happiness boost that’s pretty equivalent to spending time with relatives, or friends.  The study was based on a survey of more than 2,500 English households, or at least households in England.

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THE ECONOMIC VALUE OF OWNING A PET IS ABOUT THE SAME AS BEING (HAPPILY) MARRIED!

The survey asked participants to rate their overall life satisfaction, using a scale of 1-7.  1 being not at all satisfied; 7 being completely satisfied.  And no, the participants were NOT asked if their pets made them happy.  But the results were telling, with pet owners showing a 3-4 point improvement over people who were not pet owners.  That’s…. a lot!  But a sense of well-being already has an established economic value.  And owning a cat or dog was equal to an extra annual income of about $93,000, which is about the same as being happily married.

On the other end, losing a spouse has an emotional as economic value of minus $225,000.  You can read more about the study on pets here.

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