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on Economics of Happiness |
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Issue of 2025–05–26
two papers chosen by Viviana Di Giovinazzo, Università degli Studi di Milano-Bicocca |
| By: | Sachintha Fernando; Katharina Kolb; Christoph Wunder |
| Abstract: | This paper employs a panel event study design to examine the causal effects of the 2013 flood disaster in East Germany on subjective well-being. We merge geo-spatial flood data with longitudinal data from the German Socio-Economic Panel (SOEP) to identify individuals in affected municipalities. Our results show that those affected by the flood report a significant life satisfaction drop of 0.17 points on an 11-point scale, which is equivalent to a 2.5% fall from pre-flood levels, in the year after the flood. The effect is more severe in peripheral areas than in central areas, and for low-income individuals than for high-income individuals. However, the effect dissipates by 2015. Additionally, we observe a notable initial decrease in health satisfaction, followed by recovery, while financial satisfaction was largely unaffected. |
| Keywords: | natural disasters, flood, quality of life, life satisfaction, health satisfaction, financial satisfaction |
| JEL: | I31 Q51 Q54 |
| Date: | 2025 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:diw:diwsop:diw_sp1224 |
| By: | Laetitia Dillenseger; Claire Mouminoux |
| Abstract: | Creating a sustainable society necessitates policies that foster human well-being and encourage individuals to engage in pro-environmental behaviors (PEBs) aimed at reducing their environmental footprint. However, the compatibility of these goals remains uncertain. While pro-environmental behavior often correlates positively with individuals’ well-being, the causal relationship between such actions and hedonic well-being (HWB) remains unclear. Similarly, the influence of subjective well-being (SWB) on PEB warrants further investigation. Based on a field experiment, supplemented by online surveys, in which French university students (n=393) could participate in a paid or unpaid volunteer waste collection, or donate to an environmental association, according to random allocation to different treatment groups, we find evidence of a virtuous loop between pro-environmental actions and SWB. Happiness is a determinant of voluntary waste collection participation, but not for paid waste collection or monetary donation. Additionally, participation in waste collection, whether paid or unpaid, significantly increases overall HWB. These results suggest that policies targeting human well-being are likely to encourage voluntary PEB and benefit from a leverage effect, as PEB, in turn, increases human well-being. |
| Keywords: | Pro-environmental behaviors, Subjective well-being, Field experiment, Waste collection, Donation. |
| JEL: | Q50 I31 C93 |
| Date: | 2024 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ulp:sbbeta:2024-44 |