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on Economics of Happiness |
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Issue of 2024‒09‒02
two papers chosen by Viviana Di Giovinazzo, Università degli Studi di Milano-Bicocca |
| By: | Rodríguez-Puello, Gabriel; Hernandez, Leonidas; Romero-Espinosa, Diana; Rowe, Francisco |
| Abstract: | People often move internationally to improve their personal situation. Yet, integration into the host society can be challenging and have negative immediate consequences on individuals' well-being. This paper explores the relationship between international migration and subjective well-being for a sample of European individuals. We use an instrumental variable panel data approach to estimate the monetary cost of individuals' well-being post-migration. Specifically, we estimate that the average cost of an individual willing to accept the potential negative effects of international migration on their well-being. Our results reveal a negative relationship between international migration and subjective well-being. Our estimates suggest that a migrant is willing to accept an average increase of EUR$1, 838 (roughly USD$2, 535) in their monthly overall income to migrate across international borders and endure a negative impact on their well-being as captured by their level of life satisfaction. This negative association is particularly pronounced among established migrants in comparison with recent migrants, and those from lower-middle-income countries. Our work highlights the importance of studying the determinants of well-being for individuals, and contributes evidence to inform policies seeking to improve the local conditions of recent migrants and their adaptation to the new environment. |
| Date: | 2024–07–22 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:osf:osfxxx:ydbxu |
| By: | Mustafa Özer; Jan Fidrmuc |
| Abstract: | Mental health is essential for well-being and quality of life. Yet, our knowledge of the determinants of mental health is limited. We analyze the impact of education on mental health using survey data on self-reported health of Turkish women. To deal with the potential endogeneity, we rely on a natural experiment: an increase in the compulsory education from 5 to 8 years in 1997. The results suggest that education has a favorable effect on mental health, physical health, and being target of abusive behavior. We specifically consider intra-family spillovers, which are important: husband’s education has favorable effects on the wife’s mental health, and both parents’ educational attainments improve mental health of children. We account for the implications of assortative mating whereby the spouses’ educational attainment are correlated. We show that each spouse’s education has a favorable impact on women’s mental health, but the effect of husbands’ education dominates that of wives’ education. These effects are particularly pronounced among women who grew up in low-income provinces and in families without history of childhood abuse. |
| Keywords: | health, mental health, education, instrumental variable, natural experiment |
| JEL: | H51 H52 I12 I26 |
| Date: | 2024 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ces:ceswps:_11213 |