|
on Economics of Happiness |
|
Issue of 2025–06–23
six papers chosen by Viviana Di Giovinazzo, Università degli Studi di Milano-Bicocca |
| By: | Kristen Cooper; Ori Heffetz; John Ifcher; Ekaterina Oparina; Stephen Wu |
| Abstract: | This paper discusses ideas for incorporating the study of happiness and other measures of self-reported or subjective well-being (SWB) into undergraduate economics courses. We begin by motivating why students of economics would benefit from learning about SWB, and then proceed to provide examples of ways to introduce this topic into different parts of the curriculum: macroeconomics, microeconomics, and upper division electives. |
| Keywords: | subjective wellbeing, self-reported wellbeing, economics of happiness, teaching economics |
| Date: | 2025–04–07 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cep:cepdps:dp2090 |
| By: | Gimenez-Nadal, José Ignacio (University of Zaragoza); Molina, José Alberto (University of Zaragoza); Velilla, Jorge (University of Zaragoza) |
| Abstract: | Social connection is a key determinant of emotional well-being, yet the role of solitude in shaping both momentary affect and overall life satisfaction remains understudied. This paper investigates how being alone while engaging in daily activities relates to subjective well-being, using rich time-use diary data from the UK covering four distinct periods: pre-pandemic (2015–2016), the Covid-19 lockdowns (2020–2021), the relaxation phase (2021), and the post-pandemic period (2023). We find that being alone is negatively associated with momentary enjoyment, particularly in the post-pandemic period, but not during lockdowns or the initial relaxation phase, suggesting that the emotional cost of solitude depends on its perceived voluntariness and social norms. The enjoyment penalty is strongest for leisure and unpaid work episodes, and most pronounced among remote workers. We also document a negative association between full-day solitude and overall life satisfaction, but only during the relaxation phase, suggesting that solitude can impose both short-term and longer-term costs of well-being, depending on the social context and type of activity. |
| Keywords: | lockdown, COVID-19, life satisfaction, instant enjoyment, well-being, time use data |
| JEL: | J16 J22 |
| Date: | 2025–05 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp17932 |
| By: | Mladjan, Mrdjan; Nikolova, Elena |
| Abstract: | This chapter revisits the scholarship on life satisfaction in Eastern Europe. We first look at the broader drivers of life satisfaction identified in the literature. Then, we discuss the 'happiness gap' in Eastern Europe - the observed difference between the self-declared happiness of residents of former communist countries and the residents of other countries. Explanations for the happiness gap are considered, with a focus on Eastern Orthodox religion. |
| Keywords: | Eastern Europe, Happiness Gap, Life Satisfaction, Orthodox Christianity |
| JEL: | D91 P29 Z12 |
| Date: | 2025 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:glodps:1619 |
| By: | Francisca Castro; Tilman Brück; Wolfgang Stojetz; Hadi Jaafar |
| Abstract: | When refugees flee abroad, they carry the legacy of their traumatic experiences across borders. While there are over 43 million refugees worldwide, the long-term effects of conflict exposure on their well-being remain poorly understood. This paper examines how pre-displacement exposure to violent conflict and environmental stressors shapes the long-term social well-being of Syrian refugees in Jordan, focusing on life satisfaction, social trust, and social safety nets. Using representative survey data from refugees living in Jordan and conflict events, as well as remote sensing environmental data from Syria, we distinguish between exposure to conflict events and conflict fatalities, revealing distinct effects. While exposure to conflict events has no systematic impact on social outcomes, exposure to conflict fatalities significantly reduces life satisfaction and weakens social safety nets. These effects are critically mediated by mental health, with depressive symptoms significantly explaining the negative impact of conflict fatalities on life satisfaction. Our findings also highlight gendered dimensions: individuals living in female-majority households experience particularly severe declines in life satisfaction, whereas those in male-majority households show greater deterioration in social safety nets. Having experienced droughts before leaving Syria further amplifies the negative effects of conflict, particularly on social safety nets. These results highlight the importance of considering intersecting vulnerabilities due to gender, environmental stress, and conflict exposure when designing support systems for forcibly displaced populations. |
| Keywords: | climate, conflict, jordan, mental health, refugees, social well-being, syria |
| JEL: | D74 D91 F22 I12 I31 O15 Q54 |
| Date: | 2025 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hic:wpaper:431 |
| By: | Krekel, Christian (London School of Economics); Goebel, Jan (DIW Berlin); Rehdanz, Katrin (Kiel University) |
| Abstract: | Most people consider parks important for their quality of life, yet systematic causal evidence is missing. We exploit exogenous variations in their use values to estimate causal effects. Using a representative household panel with precise geographical coordinates of households linked to satellite images of green spaces with a nationwide coverage, we employ a spatial difference-in-differences design, comparing within-individual changes between residents living close to a green space and those living further away. We exploit Covid-19 as exogenous shock. We find that green spaces raised overall life satisfaction while reducing symptoms of anxiety (feelings of nervousness and worry) and depression. There is also suggestive evidence for reduced loneliness. Given the number of people in their surroundings, a compensating-surplus calculation suggests that parks added substantial benefits during the period studied. |
| Keywords: | quasi-natural experiment, wellbeing, mental health, green spaces, parks, compensating surplus |
| JEL: | I10 I31 R23 H41 Q51 |
| Date: | 2025–06 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp17942 |
| By: | Robin Middelanis; Bramka Arga Jafino; Ruth Hill; Minh Cong Nguyen; Stephane Hallegatte |
| Abstract: | Most disaster risk assessments use damages to physical assets as their central metric, often neglecting distributional impacts and the coping and recovery capacity of affected people. To address this shortcoming, the concepts of well-being losses and socio-economic resilience—the ability to experience asset losses without a decline in well-being—have been proposed. This paper uses microsimulations to produce a global estimate of well-being losses from, and socio-economic resilience to, natural disasters, covering 132 countries. On average, each $1 in disaster-related asset losses results in well-being losses equivalent to a $2 uniform national drop in consumption, with significant variation within and across countries. The poorest income quintile within each country incurs only 9% of national asset losses but accounts for 33% of well-being losses. Compared to high-income countries, low-income countries experience 67% greater well-being losses per dollar of asset losses and require 56% more time to recover. Socio-economic resilience is uncorrelated with exposure or vulnerability to natural hazards. However, a 10 percent increase in GDP per capita is associated with a 0.9 percentage point gain in resilience, but this benefit arises indirectly—such as through higher rate of formal employment, better financial inclusion, and broader social protection coverage—rather than from higher income itself. This paper assess ten pol icy options and finds that socio-economic and financial interventions (such as insurance and social protection) can effectively complement asset-focused measures (e.g., construction standards) and that interventions targeting low-income populations usually have higher returns in terms of avoided well-being losses per dollar invested. |
| Date: | 2025–05–21 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wbk:wbrwps:11129 |