Dr Lucia Macchia
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About
Overview
I am a behavioural scientist with an interdisciplinary background. My work involves quantitative research on human happiness, bodily pain, and behaviour. Integrating methods from psychology and behavioural economics, I explore how psychosocial and socioeconomic factors shape mental and physical wellbeing.
I am currently a Lecturer at City, University of London; a Visiting Fellow in the Department of Psychological and Behavioural Science at the London School of Economics; and a Research Affiliate in the Wellbeing Research Centre at the University of Oxford.
I enjoy communicating science to non-academic audiences. I have written about my research in the Harvard Business Review and Scientific American and my work has been featured in popular media outlets such as Forbes, The Telegraph, the BBC, The Times, and The New York Times.
Publications
Featured publications
- Macchia, L., Okafor, C.N., Breedlove, T., Shiba, K., Piper, A., Johnson, B.... VanderWeele, T.J. (2025). Demographic variation in pain across 22 countries. Communications Medicine, 5(1). doi:10.1038/s43856-025-00858-y
Publications by category
Chapters (3)
- Macchia, L. (2024). Physical pain and wellbeing: Past, present, and future. Encyclopedia of Happiness, Quality of Life and Subjective Wellbeing ISBN 9781800889668.
- Macchia, L. and Plagnol, A.C. (2019). The Subjective Well-Being Political Paradox: Evidence from Latin America. The Economics of Happiness (pp. 371-384). Springer International Publishing. ISBN 9783030158347.
- Plagnol, A.C. and Macchia, L. (2018). Economics of subjective well- being: Evaluating the evidence for the Easterlin paradox. Socio Economic Environment and Human Psychology Social Ecological and Cultural Perspectives (pp. 225-246).
Journal articles (32)
- Macchia, L., Delaney, L. and Daly, M. (2026). The Prospective Association Between Life Satisfaction and Physical Pain: Evidence From Longitudinal and Cohort Data. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 52(8), pp. 2628-2638. doi:10.1177/01461672251343960
- Cowden, R.G., Padgett, R.N., Felton, C., Wilkinson, R., Macchia, L., Chen, Z.J.... VanderWeele, T.J. (2026). Longitudinal associations of suffering with subsequent multidimensional well-being in the Global Flourishing Study. Communications Medicine. doi:10.1038/s43856-026-01693-5
- Tang, C.K., Powdthavee, N. and Macchia, L. (2026). Rising temperatures and physical pain: Evidence from over 2 million U.S. residents. Ecological Economics, 241, pp. 108871-108871. doi:10.1016/j.ecolecon.2025.108871
- Macchia, L. and Oswald, A.J. (2025). National Worry and the Psychological Value of Social Spending. Review of Income and Wealth, 71(4). doi:10.1111/roiw.70039
- Macchia, L., Delaney, L. and Daly, M. (2025). Pain predicts being out of work, especially for those with low job control: longitudinal analysis of adults in Australia. Occupational and Environmental Medicine. doi:10.1136/oemed-2025-110242
- Macchia, L. and Fett, A.-.K. (2025). The association between loneliness and pain, and the role of physical health and distress: an analysis in 139 countries. Scientific Reports, 15(1). doi:10.1038/s41598-025-15151-0
- Macchia, L., Okafor, C.N., Breedlove, T., Shiba, K., Piper, A., Johnson, B.... VanderWeele, T.J. (2025). A cross-national analysis of childhood predictors of physical pain. Communications Medicine, 5(1). doi:10.1038/s43856-025-00997-2
- Macchia, L., Kaats, M., Johnson, B. and VanderWeele, T.J. (2025). Physical pain as a component of subjective wellbeing. Scientific Reports, 15(1). doi:10.1038/s41598-025-98421-1
- VanderWeele, T.J., Johnson, B.R., Bialowolski, P.T., Bonhag, R., Bradshaw, M., Breedlove, T.... Yancey, G. (2025). The Global Flourishing Study: Study Profile and Initial Results on Flourishing. Nature Mental Health, 3(6), pp. 636-653. doi:10.1038/s44220-025-00423-5
- Farmer, J.G., 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: Psychological Sciences and Social Sciences, 80(3). doi:10.1093/geronb/gbaf004
- Proulx, J.D.E., Macchia, L. and Aknin, L.B. (2024). Can repeated and reflective prosocial experiences in sport increase generosity in adolescent athletes? The Journal of Positive Psychology, 19(5), pp. 772-800. doi:10.1080/17439760.2023.2178955
- Macchia, L. (2024). Having Less Than Others is Physically Painful: Income Rank and Pain Around the World. Social Psychological and Personality Science, 15(2), pp. 215-224. doi:10.1177/19485506231167928
- Macchia, L., Delaney, L. and Daly, M. (2024). Global pain levels before and during the COVID-19 pandemic. Economics & Human Biology, 52, pp. 101337-101337. doi:10.1016/j.ehb.2023.101337
- Macchia, L., Plagnol, A.C. and Easterlin, R.A. (2024). Trends and fluctuations in financial satisfaction and macroeconomic indicators in times of economic changes: the case of Latin America. International Journal of Happiness and Development, 8(3), pp. 295-312. doi:10.1504/ijhd.2024.137970
- Ruggeri, K., Stock, F., Haslam, S.A., Capraro, V., Boggio, P., Ellemers, N.... Willer, R. (2023). A synthesis of evidence for policy from behavioural science during COVID-19. Nature. doi:10.1038/s41586-023-06840-9
- Tang, C.K., Macchia, L. and Powdthavee, N. (2023). Income is more protective against pain in more equal countries. Social Science & Medicine, 333, pp. 116181-116181. doi:10.1016/j.socscimed.2023.116181
- Macchia, L., Daly, M. and Delaney, L. (2023). The effect of adverse employment circumstances on physical pain: Evidence from Australian panel data. Preventive Medicine, 173. doi:10.1016/j.ypmed.2023.107574
- Macchia, L. (2023). Understanding Despair: The Role of Physical Pain. American Journal of Health Promotion, 37(6), pp. 763-765. doi:10.1177/08901171231177849
- Macchia, L., Farmer, J. and Kubzansky, L.D. (2023). Prosocial behaviour helps to ease physical pain: Longitudinal evidence from Britain. Journal of Psychosomatic Research, 169. doi:10.1016/j.jpsychores.2023.111325
- Macchia, L. (2023). Governments should measure pain when assessing societal wellbeing. Nature Human Behaviour, 7(3), pp. 303-305. doi:10.1038/s41562-023-01539-3
- Daly, M. and Macchia, L. (2023). Global trends in emotional distress. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 120(14). doi:10.1073/pnas.2216207120
- Macchia, L. (2022). Pain trends and pain growth disparities, 2009-2021. Economics & Human Biology, 47. doi:10.1016/j.ehb.2022.101200
- Gonzalez, A.M., Macchia, L. and Whillans, A.V. (2022). The developmental origins and behavioral consequences of attributions for inequality. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 101. doi:10.1016/j.jesp.2022.104329
- Ruggeri, K., Panin, A., Vdovic, M., Većkalov, B., Abdul-Salaam, N., Achterberg, J.... García-Garzon, E. (2022). The globalizability of temporal discounting. Nature Human Behaviour. doi:10.1038/s41562-022-01392-w
- Macchia, L. and Ariely, D. (2021). Eliciting preferences for redistribution across domains: A study on wealth, education, and health. Analyses of Social Issues and Public Policy, 21(1), pp. 1141-1166. doi:10.1111/asap.12279
- Macchia, L. and Whillans, A.V. (2021). The Link Between Income, Income Inequality, and Prosocial Behavior Around the World. Social Psychology, 52(6), pp. 375-386. doi:10.1027/1864-9335/a000466
- Macchia, L. and Oswald, A.J. (2021). Physical pain, gender, and the state of the economy in 146 nations. Social Science & Medicine, 287, pp. 114332-114332. doi:10.1016/j.socscimed.2021.114332
- Macchia, L. and Whillans, A.V. (2021). Leisure beliefs and the subjective well-being of nations. The Journal of Positive Psychology, 16(2), pp. 198-206. doi:10.1080/17439760.2019.1689413
- Macchia, L., Plagnol, A.C. and Powdthavee, N. (2020). Buying Happiness in an Unequal World: Rank of Income More Strongly Predicts Well-Being in More Unequal Countries. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 46(5), pp. 769-780. doi:10.1177/0146167219877413
- Whillans, A., Macchia, L. and Dunn, E. (2019). Valuing time over money predicts happiness after a major life transition: A preregistered longitudinal study of graduating students. Science Advances, 5(9). doi:10.1126/sciadv.aax2615
- Macchia, L. and Plagnol, A.C. (2019). Life Satisfaction and Confidence in National Institutions: Evidence from South America. Applied Research in Quality of Life, 14(3), pp. 721-736. doi:10.1007/s11482-018-9606-3
- Macchia, L., Plagnol, A.C. and Reimers, S. (2018). 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, pp. 76-83. doi:10.1016/j.socec.2018.05.006
Thesis/dissertation
Professional activities
Media appearances (30)
- Why Americans feel more pain. (2023) The New York Times.
- Por qué te va a doler más la espalda si ganas menos dinero que tu vecino. (2023) El Español.
- The Times view on the gloominess sweeping the world: cheer up. (2023) The Times.
- Why is the world getting sadder? (2023) The Times.
- Emotional distress has increased worldwide over the past decade. (2023) El País.
- Warum der Gehaltsvergleich mit anderen Arbeitskräften zu physischen Schmerzen führen kann. (2023) Business Insider.
- What is emotional stress and why is it increasing around the world. (2023) Wire Service Canada.
- How income plays a part in your experience of physical pain. (2023) Open Access Government.
- Una persona su tre soffre di qualche forma di dolore. (2023) Quotidiano Nazionale.
- Increase in emotional distress observed worldwide in 2020. (2023) Medical Press.
- Weniger Einkommen heißt mehr Schmerzen, Studie der City University of London hat Daten von 1,3 Millionen Personen aus 146 Ländern analysiert. (2023) Gütsel Online.
- Gehaltsvergleich mit Kollegen kann zu körperlichen Schmerzen führen. (2023) Merkur.de.
- Armer zijn dan je omgeving doet écht pijn. (2023) Mondiaal Nieuws.
- Emotional distress is rising worldwide. Why? (2023) Big Think.
- Sadness and stress are growing in the world, and the pandemic may have exacerbated the situation. (2023) Mediarun Search.
- Increase in emotional distress observed worldwide in 2020. (2023) Physicians Weekly.
- The feeling of distress is increasing all over the world, and it is not because of the Covid-19. (2023) Sciences et Avenir.
- La douleur, composante du bien-être. (2023) Les Echos.
- La douleur, composante du bien-être. (2023) Les Echos.
- Argentina's hyperinflation challenge. (2022) Vixio Regulation Intelligence.
- When parents tell kids to ‘work hard,’ do they send the wrong message?. (2022) Harvard Business School.
- Why criticism lasts longer than praise. (2022) BBC.
- The surprising connection between pain and your pocketbook. (2021) Psychology Today.
- Physical pain fluctuates with economic conditions, suggests a new study. (2021) Forbes.
- The 10 happiest countries in the world, and how they got there. (2019) Forbes.
- You don't need a lot of money to be happy, as long as you're richer than your friends, study finds. (2019) The Telegraph.
- Earning more than your peers buys more happiness in countries with a larger rich-poor divide. (2019) Tech Round.
- It’s not how much you make, it’s how you rank among peers. (2019) Financial advisor.
- Einkommensungleichheit fördert Zufriedenheit. (2019) Finanzwelt.
- La desconfianza ciudadana reina en Sudamérica. (2019) ANSA Latina.
Online articles (9)
- It’s not how much money you earn that affects physical pain. (2023). SPSP Character & Context Blog
- Rising physical pain is linked to more ‘Deaths of Despair. (2023). Scientific American
- The link between recessions and physical pain. (2022). Harvard Business Review
- Why a Covid-19 world feels both tiring and hopeful for college students. (2020). Harvard Business Review
- The importance of trust in government. Contribution to Dispatches from the Behavioral Scientists fighting Coronavirus in the Global South. (2020). Behavioral Scientist.
- Building trust to face the COVID-19 pandemic in developing countries. (2020). Behavioral Scientist
- Why do people tolerate income inequality? (2019). Harvard Business Review
- Happiness after graduation. (2019). Thrive Global.
- Life ratings and trust in institutions in South America. (2018). Gallup
Radio programmes (3)
- Science unscripted DW. https://www.dw.com/en/ouch-physical-pain-rises-wit (2023). ‘Ouch!’ — Physical pain rises with envy (English)
- Back to Being Podcast. https://open.spotify.com/episode/6xPvpM1s5GeUWTJko (2022). Insua, A. Episode 41: Bienestar. Guest. (Español).
- Comportate! Podcast. https://open.spotify.com/episode/2AX9WtI12q8LG3Vev (2022). Beun, O. Behavioural Insights Argentina. Episode 10. Guest. (Español).