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on Economics of Happiness |
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Issue of 2026–07–13
eight papers chosen by Viviana Di Giovinazzo, Università degli Studi di Milano-Bicocca |
| By: | Goodhart, Charles; Vu, Ly Hoang |
| Abstract: | This paper investigates how media usage and individual characteristics shape trust in national institutions across diverse political and informational environments. Drawing on a harmonized dataset that combines the WVS/EVS Trend 1981–2022 with population data from the World Bank, we analyze 423, 346 individual observations from 97 countries. We examine trust in five national institutions (press, government, parliament, law courts, and commercial banks) and conduct region-specific analyses covering 8 regions: Western Europe and other Advanced Economies, Eastern Europe (within and outside the Russian sphere), Asia (within and outside the China sphere), Latin America, and Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) and the MENA. The results reveal robust cross-regional patterns: traditional media use is consistently associated with higher trust in national institutions, whereas social media use is generally linked to lower trust, particularly in political institutions. We review and discuss the sharply differing regional effects of religious adherence and the length of the current government ruling party time in office. Subjective well-being, perceived security, and life satisfaction emerge as the most stable predictors of trust across regions and institutions. These findings highlight the joint roles of information environments and lived experience in shaping institutional trust and carry important implications for governance and public communication strategies. |
| Keywords: | Religiosity |
| JEL: | D10 D91 H11 O50 P47 P52 Z12 |
| Date: | 2026–03 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cpr:ceprdp:21295 |
| By: | Markovich, Sarit; Rayo, Luis |
| Abstract: | We develop a framework for understanding how social media can reduce both motivation and well-being. In the model, curated social-media feeds raise the bar for feeling successful and distort how people learn about their capability from their own outcomes. Individuals then work toward an unrealistic standard and misread poor results as evidence of low capability rather than as a consequence of biased comparisons. The result is a motivation trap in which pessimistic beliefs and low effort reinforce one another over time. The same mechanism also reduces well-being by making rewarding moments less frequent. Finally, the model explains why social media can amplify preexisting motivational inequality and why competence-building interventions are especially promising. |
| JEL: | D83 D86 D62 I31 L82 |
| Date: | 2026–04 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cpr:ceprdp:21432 |
| By: | Perona, Mathieu |
| Abstract: | La vague de chaleur de fin mai ne semble pas avoir eu d’effet sur le bien-être ressenti par la majorité des Français. La satisfaction dans la vie est stable, le bien-être émotionnel et le sentiment de sens ressortent à un niveau élevé. Les prix du carburant, certes en recul après leur pic d’avril, n’entament ni l’évaluation du niveau de vie ni celle de la situation financière. Point noir, le travail constitue depuis un an un élément d’insatisfaction, et ce trimestre ne montre pas d’amélioration. Le sentiment d’avoir quelqu’un sur qui compter reste à un niveau élevé. Si les relations avec les proches reste une source de satisfaction pour la majorité de la population, un quart des personnes interrogées se sont pourtant senties seules au cours des sept jours précédents, un phénomène qui traverse les générations. |
| Keywords: | France, Conjoncture, Bien-être |
| Date: | 2026–07 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cpm:notobe:2614 |
| By: | David G. Blanchflower; Alex Bryson; Alan J. Cui |
| Abstract: | We examine the implications of panel attrition for the age profile of subjective ill-being in the Global Flourishing Study (GFS). We establish that survey attrition rates are high, and are highest among the young, particularly when interviewed in wave 1 using a computer-assisted web interview (CAWI). We then deploy three methods (inverse probability weighting, multiple imputation chain equations, and last observation carried forward) to estimate the age pattern in subjective ill-being in wave 2 of the survey. All three methods have their strengths and weaknesses, but we demonstrate that such adjustments are merited given the nature of survey attrition in the data. We conclude that subjective ill-being is declining in age in both waves 1 and 2 of the GFS having accounted for sample attrition, something that would not have been apparent if one simply ran wave 2 regressions without accounting for sample attrition. |
| JEL: | I31 |
| Date: | 2026–06 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:35355 |
| By: | Адилханова Зарина // Adilkhanova Zarina (National Bank of Kazakhstan) |
| Abstract: | В работе представлены эмпирические оценки двух параметров, необходимых для анализа межвременного поведения домохозяйств и торговли: коэффициента относительной степени неприятия риска и эластичности замещения между отечественными и импортными товарами. Коэффициент относительного непринятия риска оценивался на основе опросных данных БНС АСПиР о потреблении и субъективном благополучии домохозяйств Казахстана за период 2017-2024 гг. с применением методов максимального правдоподобия и GMM. Полученные значения находятся в диапазоне 1, 42-1, 66, что свидетельствует о умеренной склонности к риску и согласуется с международной литературой. Эластичность замещения между импортными и отечественными товарами оценивалась с использованием панельных данных по 56 товарам за период с января 2020 по сентябрь 2025 гг., с применением модели с фиксированными эффектами. Коэффициент эластичности цен 0, 18 указывает на низкую степень взаимозаменяемости товаров. // The paper presents empirical estimates of two parameters required for the analysis of intertemporal household behavior and trade dynamics: the coefficient of relative risk aversion and the elasticity of substitution between domestic and imported goods. The coefficient of relative risk aversion was estimated using household survey data from the BNS ASPR, covering consumption and subjective well-being indicators for the period 2017-2024. The estimation employed both Maximum Likelihood and Generalized Method of Moments (GMM) techniques. The estimated values range from 1.42 to 1.66, indicating a moderate degree of risk aversion and broadly consistent with findings reported in the international literature. The elasticity of substitution between imported and domestic goods was estimated using panel data for 56 product categories over the period from January 2020 to September 2025, applying a fixed-effects model. The estimated price elasticity of 0.18 suggests a low degree of substitutability between domestic and imported goods. |
| Keywords: | эластичность Армингтона, коэффициент относительной степени неприятия риска, CRRA, эластичность замещения, Armington elasticity, Constant Relative Risk Aversion, elasticity of substitution |
| JEL: | D12 D81 F14 |
| Date: | 2026 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:aob:wpaper:76 |
| By: | Vassy Pierre Sangaré (Université Alassane ouattara de, Université Alassane Ouattara [Bouaké, Côte d'Ivoire]) |
| Abstract: | This article examines the relationship between economic growth and social well-being within the WAEMU area to assess the capacity of growth to generate genuine human and social progress. The study is based on a theoretical and conceptual approach, grounded in a constructivist epistemological stance and employing deductive reasoning through a critical review of economic and institutional literature. The findings reveal that growth in WAEMU remains essentially quantitative and unequal, despite certain improvements in social well-being. The analysis emphasizes the need to strengthen social and institutional policies, particularly through investment in human capital, the promotion of decent employment, the reduction of inequalities, and the inclusion of vulnerable groups. These measures are deemed essential to transform economic dynamics into genuine human and social progress, thereby contributing to more inclusive and sustainable growth. |
| Abstract: | Cet article examine la relation entre la croissance économique et le bien-être social dans l'espace de l'UEMOA, afin d'évaluer la capacité de la croissance à générer un véritable progrès humain et social. L'étude repose sur une approche théorique et conceptuelle, inscrite dans un positionnement épistémologique constructiviste et mobilisant un raisonnement déductif à partir d'une revue critique de la littérature économique et institutionnelle. Les résultats montrent que la croissance dans l'UEMOA demeure essentiellement quantitative et inégalitaire, malgré certaines avancées en matière de bien-être. L'analyse souligne la nécessité de renforcer les politiques sociales et institutionnelles, notamment par l'investissement dans le capital humain, la promotion d'emplois décents, la réduction des inégalités et l'inclusion des groupes vulnérables. Ces mesures apparaissent essentielles pour transformer la dynamique économique en un véritable progrès social et humain, contribuant ainsi à une croissance plus inclusive et durable. Déclaration de divulgation : L'auteur n'a pas connaissance de quelconque financement qui pourrait affecter l'objectivité de cette étude. |
| Keywords: | African Scientific Journal, WAEMU, Well-Being, Human and Social Dimensions, Inclusive Growth, UEMOA, bien-être, dimension humaine et sociale, Croissance inclusive |
| Date: | 2026–03–30 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:journl:hal-05578415 |
| By: | Calsamiglia, Caterina; Fawaz, Yarine; Fernandez-Kranz, Daniel; Lee, Junhee |
| Abstract: | Prior research has found that boys often outperform girls in high-stakes math exams, affecting access to selective university programs and later careers. Using administrative and survey data linked to a lottery-based school assignment system, we show that this gender gap is substantially reduced in single-sex schools. Girls randomly assigned to single-sex schools exert more effort, narrow the math performance gap with boys in high-stakes exams, and are more likely to enroll in STEM degrees excluding biology. These gains come at a cost to well-being, reflected in higher stress and worse mental health. The effects are not explained by teacher gender, school resources, or differential selection into science tracks. Our findings are consistent with theories emphasizing the social costs of norm violation: single-sex schools may reduce peer pressures that discourage academic ambition in competitive and male-dominated domains. |
| Keywords: | Gender; Korea |
| JEL: | I21 J16 I24 D91 J24 I28 |
| Date: | 2026–05 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cpr:ceprdp:21477 |
| By: | Sanfey, Peter; Sourvanos, Dimitris |
| Abstract: | In this paper we examine Greece’s progress since the peak of its crisis in 2015 in ten different socioeconomic dimensions vis‑à‑vis its EU peers. We divide the ten topics into three broad categories: individual wellbeing, public institutions and services, and longterm development areas. Using descriptive statistics within a comparative benchmarking framework, we draw several conclusions. First, Greeks are in general richer, happier and more confident than they were ten years ago, although certain gaps remain compared with their pre-crisis levels and the EU average. Second, our analysis shows that progress in public institutions has been mixed. While public finances and debt profile have improved dramatically in the past decade, for many households the impact has been only modest, contributing to a notable gap between business and consumer confidence. At the same time, health and education outcomes show a mixed picture, and public governance is still facing challenges. Third, we identify advances in inclusive human capital, financial resilience, the green agenda and digitalisation, though there is still room for further improvement. Our overall conclusion is that Greece has largely recovered from the peak of its crisis, but longer-term convergence with its EU peers will depend on sustained reform efforts. |
| Keywords: | post-crisis recovery; socioeconomic convergence; structural transformation; financial resilience |
| JEL: | N0 |
| Date: | 2026–06 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ehl:lserod:138857 |