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on Economics of Happiness |
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Issue of 2026–04–06
four papers chosen by Viviana Di Giovinazzo, Università degli Studi di Milano-Bicocca |
| By: | Rupieper, Li Kathrin Kaja (Leibniz University Hannover); Thomsen, Stephan (Leibniz University of Hannover) |
| Abstract: | Lifelong learning is increasingly recognized as important for individual well-being, but causal evidence on this relationship remains scarce. This paper evaluates the effects of non-formal adult education on life satisfaction by exploiting the substantial expansion of courses at East German Volkshochschulen (VHS) following reunification. Combining individual well-being data from SOEP with administrative VHS data, we use quasi-random variation in individuals’ exposure to courses to identify intention-to-treat effects. Estimation results denote small but significant and robust effects of VHS education on life satisfaction. Calculations of average treatment-on-the-treated effects suggest considerably stronger impacts among actual course participants. We furthermore reveal effect heterogeneity across demographic groups. In contrast to formal education, which is commonly found to raise aspirations, we find no corresponding effect of VHS education. Overall, our findings suggest that non-formal courses and training provide an easily accessible, low-cost means of adaptation in times of transformation. |
| Keywords: | Volkshochschule, adult education, transformation, SOEP, Germany, subjective well-being, natural experiment |
| JEL: | H52 I26 I31 N34 P29 |
| Date: | 2026–03 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp18474 |
| By: | Emmanuel Asane-Otoo (University of Oldenburg, Department of Economics); Abigail O. Asare (University of Oldenburg, Department of Economics) |
| Abstract: | This paper examines the impact of energy poverty on subjective well-being in Germany using longitudinal data from the German Socio-Economic Panel (SOEP) over the period 2010–2023. Exploiting within-individual variation, we estimate fixed-effects models using objective, subjective, and composite indicators of energy poverty. Energy poverty is associated with a statistically significant and economically meaningful decline in life satisfaction, even after controlling for income, health status, and household characteristics. The negative association persists among households that are not income-poor, indicating that energy poverty constitutes a distinct dimension of material deprivation. Effects are strongest for subjective and multidimensional indicators, highlighting the importance of perceived energy deprivation and lived experience. Causal mediation analysis suggests that these well-being losses operate primarily through psychological and emotional channels. These findings imply that policies targeting energy affordability and housing efficiency may generate substantial welfare gains beyond income-based support. |
| Keywords: | Energy poverty, Subjective well-being, Energy affordability, Multidimensional poverty, Panel data |
| JEL: | C23 I14 I31 Q48 D63 |
| Date: | 2026–04 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:old:dpaper:455 |
| By: | Peltzman, Sam |
| Abstract: | I document a sudden, sharp and historically unprecedented decline in self-reported happiness in the US population. It occurred during 2020, the year of the Covid pandemic, and mainly persists through 2024. This happiness crash spread across nearly all typical demographics and geographies. The happiest groups pre-Covid (e.g., whites, high income, well-educated and politically/ideologically right-leaning) tend to show the largest happiness reductions. The glaring exception is marital status, which has consistently been an important marker for happiness. The already wide happiness premium for marriage has, if anything, become slightly wider. With both married and unmarried reporting large declines in happiness the country has become segregated: slightly over half - the married adults - remain happy on balance; the unmarried, nearly half, are now distinctly unhappy. I also show that across a number of aspects of personal and social capital post-Covid deterioration is the norm, including a collapse of belief in the fairness of others and of trust in the US Supreme Court. |
| Keywords: | Happiness, Covid, Demographics, Marriage, Race, Education, Income, Politics, Ideology |
| JEL: | D60 H00 I10 I31 J10 J12 J18 Z13 |
| Date: | 2026 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:cbscwp:339592 |
| By: | Dimitar Sabev (Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, Economic Research Institute) |
| Abstract: | This article argues that growth is not always a path to greater happiness - based on data from 134 countries grouped into 6 regions, the analysis identified three major patterns in the relationship between economic growth and subjective wellbeing. In the Global North, there is a significant negative association – that is, higher growth impedes the population’s wellbeing. For the emerging economies in Asia and Latin America, the link is positive: higher economic growth promotes happiness. Finally, for a broad group of countries in Africa and the Middle East, as well as in the Eurasia region, there is no clear statistical association between growth and happiness, assumedly because of their statist and resource-based economic structure. The general conclusion confirms the existence of the Easterlin Paradox on an international level, which might be explained by two main factors: the higher marginal social and environmental costs of growth beyond a certain threshold, and the need for institutions to provide equitable distribution of the surplus output. The main policy implication of this finding is that “more growth†is an improper development prescription for both the richest and the poorest nations. |
| Keywords: | economic growth; subjective wellbeing; post-growth; Easterlin Paradox; institutions |
| JEL: | O43 O47 I31 R11 |
| Date: | 2026–04 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:sko:wpaper:bep-2026-02 |