When William Shakespeare wrote Juliet saying “rose by any other name would smell as sweet”, he implied that people, roses, and other things have absolute values that provide us with pleasure independently of how we frame them with names. I am skeptical.

I am currently studying how expectations affect the utility people receive from certain activities. My opinion is that references and perceptions may be greatly underestimated and are perhaps primary determinants of people’s well-being. People are continuously willing to pay premiums for products framed with certain brands, average products appear lesser when standing next to high-end correspondents, and our experiences of activities significantly depend on perceptions and references. If these effects are sufficiently strong, economic implications include the hypothesis that income growth does not improve happiness in the long run, since expectations continuously catch up with the present conditions.