Measuring the monetary value of social relations: A hedonic approach

This paper presents an application of the hedonic approach to measure the monetary price of social relations. We use micro data for housing and labor markets in the 103 Italian province capitals to estimate the price of relational amenities and construct monetary indices of quality of relational life. We focus on time spent with friends, active participation in associations and frequency of going out for leisure activities as relational amenities, while controlling for standard amenities such as weather, environment, services, and socio-demographic characteristics. We find that individuals are willing to pay a positive and significant monetary price to live in cities where people spend more time with their friends. A one standard deviation increase in the share of those who meet their friends most frequently is worth an extra € 1150 per year in terms of higher housing costs and foregone wages.