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on Economics of Happiness |
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Issue of 2024‒05‒13
three papers chosen by |
| By: | Marchesi, Daniele; Nikolova, Milena; Angelini, Viola |
| Abstract: | Research on the consequences of income inequality on subjective well-being has yielded mixed results, including a lack of a statistically significant correlation. We propose that this inconsistency may arise from the failure to differentiate between perceived and actual income inequality. Perceptions of inequality matter because individuals often do not know the actual level of inequality in their country. Leveraging data from the 2016 Life in Transition Survey, which includes unique information on individuals' inequality perceptions, we find a positive association between these perceptions and life satisfaction across 33 countries. Individuals who believe that inequality has increased in the previous 4 years are on average 8% less satisfied with their life (on a 1-5 scale) compared to respondents who perceive no increase in inequality. The magnitude of the estimate is sizeable, being twice as large as the influence of unemployment. Taking actual inequality levels and changes into account does not alter the conclusions, suggesting that inequality perception matters for life satisfaction above and beyond actual inequality. Our findings survive a battery of robustness checks, including an instrumental variables approach and addressing common method variance bias. We also find that mobility expectations and fairness perceptions cushion but do not fully offset the negative association between perceived inequality increases and life satisfaction. Our findings imply that understanding the role of inequality perceptions can be key to improving social cohesion and individual and societal well-being. |
| Keywords: | Inequality, Perceptions, Life satisfaction, Subjective well-being |
| JEL: | D63 E31 I31 |
| Date: | 2024 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:glodps:1416&r=hap |
| By: | Jantsch, Antje; Piper, Alan |
| Abstract: | In this study, we explore the relationship between town size and subjective well-being (SWB) in Latin America. We utilize data from the Latinobarómetro survey from 2005 to 2015, employing multilevel modeling to analyze individual responses to life satisfaction as an indicator of SWB. We refine the town size categories provided in the Latinobarómetro by cross-referencing the geographic information with the United Nations Demographic Yearbook, one of our main contributions, leaving us with more refined town size categories than previous research. Given previous theories, we also explore how education moderates the town size-SWB relationship. Our findings reveal that individuals in towns with populations between 10, 000 and 500, 000 report lower life satisfaction compared to those in smaller or larger towns. Controlling for national macroeconomic conditions reverses the positive association between SWB and living in a very large city. Furthermore, we find support for the notion that lower-educated individuals are less happy in large cities, while the relationship is inconclusive for highly-educated individuals. This study underscores the importance of refining town size data and suggests avenues for future research to deepen collective understanding of the ‘geography of happiness’ in Latin America. |
| Keywords: | life satisfaction, subjective well-being, education, town size, Latin America, Latinobarómetro, multilevel modelling |
| JEL: | I31 R10 |
| Date: | 2024–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:120565&r=hap |
| By: | Huebener, Mathias (Bundesinstitut für Bevölkerungsforschung (BiB)); Waights, Sevrin (Humboldt University Berlin); Spieß, C. Katharina (Bundesinstitut für Bevölkerungsforschung (BiB)) |
| Abstract: | In this chapter, we aim to improve the understanding of the well-being impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. We provide an overview of the existing literature and carry out empirical analysis aimed at addressing certain gaps in the knowledge. Specifically, we examine the evolution of parental well-being over the course of the COVID-19 pandemic in Germany and relate changes to the severity of restrictions on school and daycare facilities. Our analysis makes use of unique data from the COMPASS survey collected at 17 different point throughout the pandemic in Germany. We find that there is a large difference in retrospective stress-feelings between women and men that is present only for individuals living with children under the age of 12. We also show that the size of the gender gap in life satisfaction fluctuates over time in a way that is related to severity of restrictions to daycare and school operation. |
| Keywords: | well-being, gender inequality, COVID-19, school closures |
| JEL: | I31 I24 J1 I20 |
| Date: | 2024–04 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp16907&r=hap |