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on Economics of Happiness |
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Issue of 2025–02–10
five papers chosen by Viviana Di Giovinazzo, Università degli Studi di Milano-Bicocca |
| By: | Ahn, Jiyeon (Sogang University); Ahn, Taehyun (Sogang University); Kim, Seonghoon (Singapore Management University and IZA) |
| Abstract: | Using 20 years of nationally representative panel data in South Korea, we estimate how life satisfaction responds to income shocks. We document that unexpected income changes significantly impact an individual’s life satisfaction, and the magnitudes depend on the persistence of income shocks. We find that permanent income shocks substantially penetrate life satisfaction, while transitory income shocks have minimal impact. We also find that life satisfaction regarding external factors such as family income and leisure activities is more sensitive to income shocks than life satisfaction related to social relationships. Our findings imply that it is critical for the government to address persistent income losses in the economy (e.g., long-term unemployment driven by skill-biased technological changes or work-limiting disability) as a means to improving social welfare. |
| Keywords: | life Satisfaction; Insurance; Income shocks; KLIPS |
| JEL: | D31 D60 I31 |
| Date: | 2024–12–01 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ris:smuesw:2024_016 |
| By: | Hennecke, Juliane (Otto-von-Guericke University Magdeburg); Knabe, Andreas (Otto-von-Guericke University Magdeburg) |
| Abstract: | This paper examines the relationship between flexible working arrangements (FWA) and workers' affective well-being (AWB), using data from the American Time-Use Survey (ATUS) and the Occupational Information Network (O*NET). We analyze differences in workers' emotional experiences during paid work, unpaid work, and leisure depending on the general availability of FWA within their occupation. Our findings reveal a significant negative association between teleworkability and AWB during labor activities for women, resulting in reduced day-average emotional well-being if jobs are also time-flexible. In contrast, we do not find significant associations between FWA and AWB during paid work for men. Additionally, we find no evidence of systematic spillovers to the AWB in non-labor activities for both men and women. Further nuanced findings regarding parents and the role of time flexibility underscore potential gender differences in the impact of FWA on well-being. |
| Keywords: | flexible working arrangements, affective well-being, telework, working from home, work and family, work-life balance, gender differences |
| JEL: | J22 J81 D91 I31 |
| Date: | 2025–01 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp17634 |
| By: | Mathieu Perona (CEPREMAP - Centre pour la recherche économique et ses applications - ECO ENS-PSL - Département d'économie de l'ENS-PSL - ENS-PSL - École normale supérieure - Paris - PSL - Université Paris Sciences et Lettres); Laura Recuero Virto (CRG I3 - Centre de recherche en gestion I3 - X - École polytechnique - IP Paris - Institut Polytechnique de Paris - I3 - Institut interdisciplinaire de l’innovation - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, EMLV - École de management Léonard de Vinci); Maxime Sèbe (CRG I3 - Centre de recherche en gestion I3 - X - École polytechnique - IP Paris - Institut Polytechnique de Paris - I3 - Institut interdisciplinaire de l’innovation - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique); Fabien Yao (CRG I3 - Centre de recherche en gestion I3 - X - École polytechnique - IP Paris - Institut Polytechnique de Paris - I3 - Institut interdisciplinaire de l’innovation - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique) |
| Abstract: | This policy brief highlights the insights subjective well-being metrics bring to the understanding of the relationship between consumption and happiness. We explore this topic in the advent of expected significant price increases under the double impact of higher climate volatility and the costly transition to cleaner production and transportation technologies, as is the case with maritime transport. People appear to be sensitive to price increases, on top of the real purchasing power of price and income changes regarding their happiness. Moreover, the type of consumption matters, with a lower marginal effect of material consumption on wellbeing compared to experiential consumption. Health, social relationships, and local environment are considered as main drivers of their wellbeing and de-emphasise consumption. A key outcome is that the gains of additional consumption decrease with the level of consumption, making consumption reductions less painful at the upper end of the revenue scale. Rich societies should be actively working on further decoupling material consumption and well-being by consciously exposing the elusive nature of the well-being boost we get from conspicuous consumption (goods others can readily observe: car, clothing, house, watches) and provide incentives for more socially and environmentally responsible modes of consumption. |
| Abstract: | Cette note politique met en lumière les perspectives que les mesures subjectives du bien-être apportent à la compréhension de la relation entre consommation et bonheur. Nous explorons ce sujet alors que l'on s'attend à des augmentations de prix significatives sous le double impact d'une plus grande volatilité du climat et d'une transition coûteuse vers des technologies de production et de transport plus propres, comme c'est le cas pour le transport maritime. Les consommateurs semblent être sensibles aux augmentations de prix, en plus du pouvoir d'achat réel et des fluctuations de revenus qui influencent leur bonheur. En outre, le type de consommation a son importance ; l'effet marginal de la consommation matérielle sur le bien-être étant plus faible que celui de la consommation expérientielle. La santé, les relations sociales et l'environnement local sont considérés comme les principaux moteurs de leur bien-être, au détriment de la consommation. Il en résulte que les gains d'une consommation supplémentaire diminuent avec le niveau de consommation, ce qui rend les réductions de consommation moins douloureuses à l'extrémité supérieure de l'échelle des revenus. Les sociétés riches devraient s'employer activement à découpler davantage la consommation matérielle et le bien-être en exposant consciemment la nature insaisissable de l'augmentation du bien-être que nous procure la consommation ostentatoire (biens que les autres peuvent facilement observer : voitures, vêtements, maisons, montres) et en offrant des incitations à des modes de consommation plus responsables d'un point de vue social et environnemental. |
| Keywords: | Policy Brief, Consommation, Technologie, Bien-être, Transport maritime, Bonheur, Impact climatique, Impact environnemental, Capitalisme, Santé humaine, Biodiversité marine |
| Date: | 2023–09–18 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:journl:hal-04851090 |
| By: | Denis Bailly (AMURE - Aménagement des Usages des Ressources et des Espaces marins et littoraux - Centre de droit et d'économie de la mer - IFREMER - Institut Français de Recherche pour l'Exploitation de la Mer - UBO - Université de Brest - IUEM - Institut Universitaire Européen de la Mer - IRD - Institut de Recherche pour le Développement - INSU - CNRS - Institut national des sciences de l'Univers - UBO - Université de Brest - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, IUEM - Institut Universitaire Européen de la Mer - IRD - Institut de Recherche pour le Développement - INSU - CNRS - Institut national des sciences de l'Univers - UBO - Université de Brest - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, UBO - Université de Brest); Mathieu Perona (CEPREMAP - Centre pour la recherche économique et ses applications - ECO ENS-PSL - Département d'économie de l'ENS-PSL - ENS-PSL - École normale supérieure - Paris - PSL - Université Paris Sciences et Lettres); Laura Recuero Virto (CRG I3 - Centre de recherche en gestion I3 - X - École polytechnique - IP Paris - Institut Polytechnique de Paris - I3 - Institut interdisciplinaire de l’innovation - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, EMLV - École de management Léonard de Vinci); Maxime Sèbe (CRG I3 - Centre de recherche en gestion I3 - X - École polytechnique - IP Paris - Institut Polytechnique de Paris - I3 - Institut interdisciplinaire de l’innovation - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique); Fabien Yao (CRG I3 - Centre de recherche en gestion I3 - X - École polytechnique - IP Paris - Institut Polytechnique de Paris - I3 - Institut interdisciplinaire de l’innovation - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique) |
| Abstract: | This policy brief highlights the insights subjective well-being metrics bring to the understanding of the relationship between consumption and happiness. We explore this topic in the advent of expected significant price increases under the double impact of higher climate volatility and the costly transition to cleaner production and transportation technologies, as is the case with maritime transport. People appear to be sensitive to price increases, on top of the real purchasing power of price and income changes regarding their happiness. Moreover, the type of consumption matters, with a lower marginal effect of material consumption on wellbeing compared to experiential consumption. Health, social relationships, and local environment are considered as main drivers of their wellbeing and de-emphasise consumption. A key outcome is that the gains of additional consumption decrease with the level of consumption, making consumption reductions less painful at the upper end of the revenue scale. Rich societies should be actively working on further decoupling material consumption and well-being by consciously exposing the elusive nature of the well-being boost we get from conspicuous consumption (goods others can readily observe: car, clothing, house, watches) and provide incentives for more socially and environmentally responsible modes of consumption. |
| Abstract: | Cette note politique met en lumière les perspectives que les mesures subjectives du bien-être apportent à la compréhension de la relation entre consommation et bonheur. Nous explorons ce sujet alors que l'on s'attend à des augmentations de prix significatives sous le double impact d'une plus grande volatilité du climat et d'une transition coûteuse vers des technologies de production et de transport plus propres, comme c'est le cas pour le transport maritime. Les consommateurs semblent être sensibles aux augmentations de prix, en plus du pouvoir d'achat réel et des fluctuations de revenus qui influencent leur bonheur. En outre, le type de consommation a son importance ; l'effet marginal de la consommation matérielle sur le bien-être étant plus faible que celui de la consommation expérientielle. La santé, les relations sociales et l'environnement local sont considérés comme les principaux moteurs de leur bien-être, au détriment de la consommation. Il en résulte que les gains d'une consommation supplémentaire diminuent avec le niveau de consommation, ce qui rend les réductions de consommation moins douloureuses à l'extrémité supérieure de l'échelle des revenus. Les sociétés riches devraient s'employer activement à découpler davantage la consommation matérielle et le bien-être en exposant consciemment la nature insaisissable de l'augmentation du bien-être que nous procure la consommation ostentatoire (biens que les autres peuvent facilement observer : voitures, vêtements, maisons, montres) et en offrant des incitations à des modes de consommation plus responsables d'un point de vue social et environnemental. |
| Keywords: | Policy Brief, Consumption, Technology, Wellbeing, Maritime Transport, Happiness, Climate impact, Environmental impact, Capitalism, Human Health, Marine biodiversity |
| Date: | 2023–12–18 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:journl:hal-04851069 |
| By: | Bernard M. S. van Praag; J. Peter Hop; William H. Greene |
| Abstract: | In the last few decades, the study of ordinal data in which the variable of interest is not exactly observed but only known to be in a specific ordinal category has become important. In Psychometrics such variables are analysed under the heading of item response models (IRM). In Econometrics, subjective well-being (SWB) and self-assessed health (SAH) studies, and in marketing research, Ordered Probit, Ordered Logit, and Interval Regression models are common research platforms. To emphasize that the problem is not specific to a specific discipline we will use the neutral term coarsened observation. For single-equation models estimation of the latent linear model by Maximum Likelihood (ML) is routine. But, for higher -dimensional multivariate models it is computationally cumbersome as estimation requires the evaluation of multivariate normal distribution functions on a large scale. Our proposed alternative estimation method, based on the Generalized Method of Moments (GMM), circumvents this multivariate integration problem. The method is based on the assumed zero correlations between explanatory variables and generalized residuals. This is more general than ML but coincides with ML if the error distribution is multivariate normal. It can be implemented by repeated application of standard techniques. GMM provides a simpler and faster approach than the usual ML approach. It is applicable to multiple -equation models with -dimensional error correlation matrices and response categories for the equation. It also yields a simple method to estimate polyserial and polychoric correlations. Comparison of our method with the outcomes of the Stata ML procedure cmp yields estimates that are not statistically different, while estimation by our method requires only a fraction of the computing time. |
| Date: | 2025–01 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:arx:papers:2501.10726 |