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on Economics of Happiness |
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Issue of 2018‒05‒21
four papers chosen by |
| By: | Filiz Gülal; Adam Ayaita |
| Abstract: | To analyze well-being effects of minimum wages, the introduction of a minimum wage in Germany in 2015 is used as a quasi-experiment. Based on the representative SOEP data, a difference-in-differences design compares the development of life, job, and pay satisfaction between those who are affected by the reform according to their pre-intervention wages and those who already have marginally higher wages so that they are not directly affected. The results show that the minimum wage has significantly positive effects on all considered dimensions of well-being, on average, with an increase in life satisfaction by 0.10 standard deviations (0.15 points on a ten-point Likert scale). Positive effects last at least until one year after the reform. Life satisfaction tends to increase particularly in the region that is overall economically less developed (East Germany). The results hold if those who are not employed anymore after the reform are included in the analysis. |
| Keywords: | Minimum wage, natural experiments, well-being, satisfaction |
| JEL: | I31 J28 J30 J31 J38 J60 |
| Date: | 2018 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:diw:diwsop:diw_sp969&r=hap |
| By: | Blanchflower, David G. (Dartmouth College, Stirling, NBER, Bloomberg and IZA); Oswald, Andrew J. (University of Warwick, CAGE, and IZA) |
| Abstract: | In Happiness for All?, Carol Graham raises disquieting ideas about today’s United States.The challenge she puts forward is an important one. Here we review the intellectual case and offer additional evidence. We conclude broadly on the author’s side. Strikingly, Americans appear to be in greater pain than citizens of other countries, and most subgroups of citizens have downwardly trended happiness levels. There is, however, one bright side to an otherwise dark story. The happiness of black Americans has risen strongly since the 1970s. It is now almost equal to that of white Americans. |
| Keywords: | Happiness; well-being; GHQ; mental-health; depression; life-course JEL Classification: I3, I31 |
| Date: | 2018 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cge:wacage:360&r=hap |
| By: | Hopfensitz, Astrid; Mantilla, Cesar |
| Abstract: | Emotion display serves as incentives or deterrents for others’ in many social interactions. We study the portrayal of anger and happiness, two emotions associated with dominance, and its relationship to team performance in a high stake environment. We analyze 4,318 pictures of players from 304 participating teams in twelve editions (1970-2014) of the FIFA Soccer World Cup, and use automated face-reading (FaceReader 6) to evaluate the display of anger and happiness. We observe that the display of both anger and happiness is positively correlated with team performance in the World Cup. Teams whose players display more anger, an emotion associated with competitiveness, concede fewer goals. Teams whose players display more happiness, an emotion associated with confidence, score more goals. We show that this result is driven by less than half the players in a team. |
| Keywords: | emotions; facial expressions; anger; happiness; contests |
| JEL: | D91 L83 |
| Date: | 2018–04 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:tse:wpaper:32632&r=hap |
| By: | Han Yu; Naci Mocan |
| Abstract: | This paper investigates the causal effect of high school curriculum on various student outcomes including academic performance at the university, happiness, physical and mental health, self-confidence, confidence in academic ability, and attitudes towards studying and learning. We exploit a curriculum reform in China, the implementation of which started in 2004. The reform covered all provinces and municipal cities, and was rolled out in different years in different provinces. The new curriculum pivoted away from the old lock-step course structure where all students took the same courses and only those subject that were covered in the national university entrance exam were considered important. In contrast, the new curriculum introduced a course credit system, changed textbooks, and provided flexibility in course selection. It also introduced elective courses and made such courses as arts and physical education mandatory, and a graduation requirement. Using survey data on university students and employing a difference-in-difference approach, we find that the students who were exposed to the new curriculum in high school have better academic performance in university. They are happier, and their physical and mental well-being is better. These students are more likely to have positive attitudes towards themselves and they are more involved in student clubs. They have more confidence in their academic ability, they have more positive attitudes towards studying, and they have more general self-confidence. These results indicate that the reform had a significant impact on students’ academic success and well-being by allowing them to focus on subject matters in which they are interested, and by reducing undue stress of a regimented curriculum. |
| JEL: | H0 I1 I20 I23 I3 J38 |
| Date: | 2018–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:24573&r=hap |