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on Economics of Happiness |
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Issue of 2014‒11‒07
nine papers chosen by |
| By: | Schnitzlein, Daniel D.; Wunder, Christoph |
| Abstract: | This paper analyzes whether individuals have equal opportunity to achieve happiness (or well- being). We estimate sibling correlations and intergenerational correlations in self-reported life satisfaction, satisfaction with household income, job satisfaction, and satisfaction with health. We find high sibling correlations for all measures of well-being. The results suggest that family background explains, on average, between 30% and 60% of the inequality in permanent well-being. The influence is smaller when the siblings’ psychological and geographical distance from their parental home is larger. Results from intergenerational correlations suggest that parental characteristics are considerably less important than family and community factors. |
| Keywords: | subjective well-being, family background, intergenerational mobility, siblings |
| JEL: | D3 I31 J62 |
| Date: | 2014–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:han:dpaper:dp-539&r=hap |
| By: | Michael Daly (Stirling University); Liam Delaney (Stirling University); Orla Doyle (University College Dublin); Nick Fitzpatrick (University College Dublin); Christine O’Farrelly (University College Dublin) |
| Abstract: | Many authors have proposed incorporating measures of well-being into evaluations of public policy. Yet few evaluations use experimental design or examine multiple aspects of well-being, thus the causal impact of public policies on well-being is largely unknown. In this paper we examine the effect of an intensive early intervention program on maternal well-being in a targeted disadvantaged community. Using a randomized controlled trial design we estimate and compare treatment effects on global well-being using measures of life satisfaction, experienced well-being using both the Day Reconstruction Method (DRM) and a measure of mood yesterday, and also a standardized measure of parenting stress. The intervention has no significant impact on negative measures of well-being, such as experienced negative affect as measured by the DRM and global measures of well-being such as life satisfaction or a global measure of parenting stress. Significant treatment effects are observed on experienced measures of positive affect using the DRM, and a measure of mood yesterday. The DRM treatment effects are primarily concentrated during times spent without the target child which may reflect the increased effort and burden associated with additional parental investment. Our findings suggest that a maternal-focused intervention may produce meaningful improvements in experienced well-being. Incorporating measures of experienced affect may thus alter cost-benefit calculations for public policies. |
| Keywords: | Well-Being, Randomised Controlled Trial, Early Intervention |
| JEL: | I00 I39 |
| Date: | 2014–10–13 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ucn:wpaper:201415&r=hap |
| By: | Daly, Michael; Delaney, Liam; Doyle, Orla M; Fitzpatrick, Nick; O'Farrelly, Christine |
| Abstract: | Many authors have proposed incorporating measures of well-being into evaluations of public policy. Yet few evaluations use experimental design or examine multiple aspects of well-being, thus the causal impact of public policies on well-being is largely unknown. In this paper we examine the effect of an intensive early intervention program on maternal well-being in a targeted disadvantaged community. Using a randomized controlled trial design we estimate and compare treatment effects on global well-being using measures of life satisfaction, experienced well-being using both the Day Reconstruction Method (DRM) and a measure of mood yesterday, and also a standardized measure of parenting stress. The intervention has no significant impact on negative measures of well-being, such as experienced negative affect as measured by the DRM and global measures of well-being such as life satisfaction or a global measure of parenting stress. Significant treatment effects are observed on experienced measures of positive affect using the DRM, and a measure of mood yesterday. The DRM treatment effects are primarily concentrated during times spent without the target child which may reflect the increased effort and burden associated with additional parental investment. Our findings suggest that a maternal-focused intervention may produce meaningful improvements in experienced well-being. Incorporating measures of experienced affect may thus alter cost-benefit calculations for public policies. |
| Keywords: | Early Intervention; Randomised Controlled Trial; Well-Being |
| Date: | 2014–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:stl:stledp:2014-10&r=hap |
| By: | Lars Thiel |
| Abstract: | This paper investigates the role of relative comparisons in health status for individual health satisfaction. Previous research stresses the importance of interdependencies in subjective well-being and health arising from positional preferences and status e ects, social health norms, and comparison processes. Using representative longitudinal data from a German population survey, we estimate empirical health satisfaction models that take these interrelations into account. We find that positional preferences and social status effects in the context of health are rather unimportant for individual health satisfaction. Furthermore, higher levels of reference-group illness can temporarily alleviate the adverse impact of one's own illness on health satisfaction. This is also the first study to show the relevance of health-related upward and downward comparisons for health perception in the general population. The results suggest that upward comparisons are more important than downward comparisons and that becoming sicker than the reference group worsens health satisfaction. |
| Keywords: | Health satisfaction, physical illness, social status, social norms, social comparisons |
| JEL: | D03 I10 |
| Date: | 2014 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:diw:diwsop:diw_sp695&r=hap |
| By: | Marco Le Moglie; Letizia Mencarini; Chiara Rapallini (Dipartimento di Scienze per l'Economia e l'Impresa) |
| Abstract: | This paper analyses the role of individual subjective wellbeing (SWB) in conjunction with personality traits (PTs) in childbearing behavior. We use the German Socio Economic Panel to estimate the way satisfaction matters for having a child. We find that SWB positively predicts childbearing, with the effect significant for both genders only for the second child. By controlling that this is not caused by PTs either on SWB or fertility, we assure that the effect of SWB on fertility is not determined by PTs, therefore leaving room for adequate policy measures aimed at raising SWB, which in turn would sustain fertility. |
| Keywords: | Subjective well-being, fertility by parity, personality traits, GSOEP survey |
| Date: | 2014 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:frz:wpaper:wp2014_20.rdf&r=hap |
| By: | René Van Den Brink (Department of Econometrics and Tinbergen Institute - VU University); Agnieszka Rusinowska (CES - Centre d'économie de la Sorbonne - CNRS : UMR8174 - Université Paris I - Panthéon-Sorbonne, EEP-PSE - Ecole d'Économie de Paris - Paris School of Economics - Ecole d'Économie de Paris); Frank Steffen (University of Liverpool Management School (ULMS) - University of Liverpool Management School) |
| Abstract: | Opinion leaders are actors who have some power over their followers as they are able to influence their followers' choice of action in certain instances. In van den Brink et al. (2011) we proposed a two-action model for societies with opinion leaders. We introduced a power and a satisfaction score and studied some common properties. In this paper we strengthen two of these properties and present two further properties, which allows us to axiomatize both scores for the case that followers require unanimous action inclinations of their opinion leaders to follow them independently from their own action inclinations. |
| Keywords: | Collective choice ; follower ; opinion leader ; power ; satisfaction ; axiomatization |
| Date: | 2013 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:journl:hal-00756720&r=hap |
| By: | Rolf Aaberge (Statistics Norway and University of Oslo); Andrea Brandolini (Bank of Italy) |
| Abstract: | This paper examines different approaches to the measurement of multidimensional inequality and poverty. First, it outlines three aspects preliminary to any multidimensional study: the selection of the relevant dimensions; the indicators used to measure them; and the procedures for their weighting. It then considers the counting approach and the axiomatic treatment in poverty measurement. Finally, it reviews the axiomatic approach to inequality analysis. The paper provides a selective review of a rapidly growing theoretical literature with the twofold aim of highlighting areas for future research and offering some guidance on how to use multidimensional methods in empirical and policy-oriented applications. |
| Keywords: | inequality, poverty, deprivation, multidimensional well-being |
| JEL: | D3 D63 I30 I32 |
| Date: | 2014–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:bdi:wptemi:td_976_14&r=hap |
| By: | Fabio Sabatini; Francesco Sarracino |
| Abstract: | Does Facebook make people lonely and unhappy? Empirical studies have produced conflicting results about the effect of social networking sites (SNS) use on individual welfare. We use a representative sample of the Italian population to investigate how actual and virtual networks of social relationships influence subjective well-being (SWB). We find a significantly negative correlation between online networking and self-reported happiness. We address endogeneity in online networking by exploiting technological characteristics of the pre-existing voice telecommunication infrastructures that exogenously determined the availability of broadband for high-speed Internet. We try to further disentangle the direct effect of SNS use on well-being from the indirect effect possibly caused by the impact of SNS’s on trust and sociability in a SEM analysis. We find that online networking plays a positive role in SWB through its impact on physical interactions. On the other hand, SNS use is associated with lower social trust, which is in turn positively correlated with SWB. The overall effect of networking on individual welfare is significantly negative. |
| Keywords: | Social participation; online networks; Facebook; social trust; social capital; subjective well-being; hate speech; broadband; digital divide. |
| JEL: | C36 D85 O33 Z13 |
| Date: | 2014–10–11 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:eei:rpaper:eeri_rp_2014_11&r=hap |
| By: | Nina Wald |
| Abstract: | This paper investigates the causal impact of displacement on health outcomes for Colombian children of different age cohorts. It uses the Colombian Demographic and Health Survey 2010, which provides both a number of health outcomes and information about displacement of households. Two different empirical strategies are employed to identify the impact of displacement on child health, namely a linear regression model and propensity score matching. In order to capture different dimensions of health, four health outcomes are used as dependent variables: (i) height-for-age z-scores; (ii) subjective health status; (iii) affiliation to a health insurance; and (iv) having a health problem last month. Overall, a negative relationship between displacement and child health is documented. In line with findings from African and Asian countries, displacement increases the likelihood for malnutrition for young children and primary school children. Moreover, being displaced leads to a lower subjective health status for children from all age cohorts. Yet, displaced children are not affected by health problems significantly more often than non-displaced children. Last, but not least, displaced children from all age cohorts are significantly less likely to have health insurance. |
| Keywords: | Child Health, Displacement, Armed Conflict, Colombia, Propensity Score Matching |
| JEL: | C21 D19 I13 O54 |
| Date: | 2014 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:diw:diwwpp:dp1420&r=hap |