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on Economics of Happiness |
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Issue of 2026–03–02
three papers chosen by Viviana Di Giovinazzo, Università degli Studi di Milano-Bicocca |
| By: | Anna Barbeta-Margarit; Seema Jayachandran; Suanna Oh |
| Abstract: | Can questions about life satisfaction be used to measure parental preferences for daughters versus sons? Daughter preference has rarely been documented in the literature, even in matrilineal settings. One possible reason is that the commonly used measures of parental gender preference, such as fertility-stopping rules and sex ratio at birth, are ill-suited to high-fertility settings. We instead assess maternal preferences in Malawi by examining the life satisfaction of women who currently have one child, comparing those with a daughter to those with a son. We find that in matrilineal (but not patrilineal) households, having a daughter increases mothers' life satisfaction, relative to having a son. |
| Keywords: | daughter preference, life satisfaction, matrilineality |
| JEL: | I31 J13 J16 N47 O12 Z13 |
| Date: | 2026 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ces:ceswps:_12463 |
| By: | Martín Leites (Universidad de la República (Uruguay). Facultad de Ciencias Económicas y de Administración. Instituto de Economía); Rodrigo Nicolau (Universidad de la República (Uruguay). Facultad de Ciencias Económicas y de Administración. Instituto de Economía); Gonzalo Salas (Universidad de la República (Uruguay). Facultad de Ciencias Económicas y de Administración. Instituto de Economía) |
| Abstract: | In this study, we examine the determinants of children’s economic aspiration. Drawing on microdata from Estudio Longitudinal del Bienestar en Uruguay, we explore alternative measures of economic aspirations. Then, we address three fundamental components of children’s aspiration window: (i) parental economic aspirations, (ii) family socioeconomic background, and (iii) parents´ peer. Finally, we test the presence of aspiration failures and their implications for well-being. Our results confirm that parents’ aspirations are the key driver of children’s economic aspirations. Peers’ parents and their beliefs influence only the aspirations of children from low-income families. Higher aspirations reduce short-term well-being but enhance outcomes between generations, providing insights into aspiration-driven behaviors and the persistence of inequality. |
| Keywords: | Aspirations, beliefs, well-being, socialization processes |
| JEL: | O10 O12 O15 D30 I3 |
| Date: | 2025–10 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ulr:wpaper:dt-23-25 |
| By: | Luzie Dallinger; Reo Van Eynde; Jefim Vogel; Lorenzo Di Domenico; Se\'an Fearon; Tina Beigi; C\'edric Crofils; Kevin J. Dillman; Daniel W. O'Neill |
| Abstract: | Given the challenge of achieving societal welfare in an environmentally sustainable way, the Index of Sustainable Economic Welfare (ISEW) has emerged as an alternative indicator of progress in response to critiques of Gross Domestic Product (GDP). The ISEW compares the benefits of economic activity with its social and environmental costs. So far, most studies empirically analyse the ISEW for past developments, while no studies have simulated the ISEW using a dynamic macroeconomic model. We address this important gap by incorporating the ISEW into COMPASS, an ecological macroeconomic model that features the Doughnut of biophysical boundaries and social thresholds. First, we analyse how the ISEW is affected by three social and environmental policies: a carbon tax, income redistribution, and working-time reduction. We find that the ISEW grows in all scenarios. The strongest improvement over business-as-usual arises when all policies are combined, while the individual policies mostly affect the ISEW positively. Only in the case of working-time reduction, the ISEW decreases. Our study underscores the benefit of dynamically modelling the ISEW for anticipating the net effect of multiple impulses and their interconnections on the indicator. Second, we explore how the ISEW compares to GDP and the Doughnut when evaluating social and environmental policies. Our results suggest that the ISEW is better than GDP at capturing their effects, but it omits the full environmental costs of growth. We argue that the Doughnut, with its comprehensive picture of biophysical boundaries and social thresholds, provides better guidance for policymakers striving for sustainable wellbeing. |
| Date: | 2026–02 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:arx:papers:2602.21971 |