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on Unemployment, Inequality and Poverty |
| By: | David G. Blanchflower; Alex Bryson |
| Abstract: | We examine the mental wellbeing of the young in 18 Latin American countries using data from five cross-country comparative studies plus cross-sectional and quarterly time series data for a single country, Mexico. We examine whether there has been a decline in youth mental health and, if so, whether it has removed the U-shape in happiness and the hump-shape in unhappiness in Latin America as it has done in the United States and elsewhere. In the Global Minds data, the mental health of the young is poorer than that of older age groups. The Enbiare surveys for Mexico indicate that declining wellbeing of the young has changed the age profile of (un)happiness in that country. The OECD’s Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) data show a decline in the mental health of school children in Latin America, and that mental ill-health is more pronounced among those who have early access to, or spend excessive time spent on, digital devices. However, in both the Gallup World Poll and the Latinobarometers the young remain happier than older age groups, even though the wellbeing of the young has declined in some Latin American countries. We speculate as to why there may be differences in trends across surveys. |
| JEL: | I31 J13 |
| Date: | 2024–11 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:33111 |
| By: | Sreevidya Ayyar (London School of Economics); Uta Bolt (Institute for Fiscal Studies); Eric French (Institute for Fiscal Studies); Cormac O'Dea (Institute for Fiscal Studies) |
| Date: | 2024–07–29 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ifs:ifsewp:24/32 |
| By: | Wielgoszewska, Bożena (University College London); Bryson, Alex (University College London); Joshi, Heather (University College London); Wilkinson, David (University College London) |
| Abstract: | Working from home (wfh) has seen a rise in prevalence, particularly in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. Although it is widely believed that wfh enables employees to better combine paid work with domestic duties, potentially enhancing work-life balance, emerging evidence suggests that it may also hinder career advancement and adversely affect mental health, with notable impacts on women. We employ longitudinal data from three British Cohort Studies, collected one year into the COVID-19 pandemic, to investigate the characteristics of those who report working from home and the relationship with gender disparities in hourly wages, mental health, and well-being. Using longitudinal data also allows us to control for cohort members' labour market situation prior to the pandemic, thereby helping to isolate the pandemic's effects. Our findings indicate that individuals who work from home typically receive higher wages compared to those who work from employers' premises, but the gender wage gap is most pronounced among those who work from home. Furthermore, consistent with the flexibility paradox, our analysis reveals that women who work from home - particularly those who work hybrid - experience the most detrimental mental health outcomes. |
| Keywords: | gender, employment, remote working, working from home, hourly earnings, mental health, COVID-19 |
| JEL: | E51 G21 G28 I2 J16 R51 |
| Date: | 2024–10 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp17405 |
| By: | Ekaterina Oparina; Andrew E. Clark; Richard Layard |
| Abstract: | We use Gallup World Poll data from over 150 countries from 2009-2019 at both the individual and country levels to revisit the relationship between income and subjective wellbeing. Our inspiration is the paradox first proposed by Easterlin (1974), according to which higher incomes are associated with greater happiness in cross-sections yet increases in a country's GDP per head do not increase its average wellbeing. In our analysis subjective wellbeing (or happiness) is measured by the Cantril ladder on a 0-10 scale. Across individuals, other things equal, one unit of log income raises subjective wellbeing by 0.4 points. In other words, doubling income raises wellbeing by 0.3 points out of 10. Across countries, a crude regression of log income on per capita income gives a higher coefficient of 0.6. But, once social variables like health and social support are introduced, the picture changes. In rich countries, income no longer has a significant effect, either in country cross-sections or in time series: higher income only matters due to its correlation with the social variables. For low-income countries the result is also clear cut - income raises happiness in both cross-section and time series, whether the social variables are controlled for or not. For middle income countries the result is mixed. |
| Keywords: | subjective wellbeing, income, GDP, Easterlin paradox, public goods |
| Date: | 2024–11–06 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cep:cepdps:dp2048 |
| By: | Raquel Bernal (Institute for Fiscal Studies); Michele Giannola (Institute for Fiscal Studies); Milagros Nores (National Institute for Early Education Research) |
| Date: | 2024–10–04 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ifs:ifsewp:24/43 |
| By: | Heinz Welsch (University of Oldenburg, Department of Economics) |
| Abstract: | Easterlin and O’Connor (PNAS 2022) have investigated which economic, social, political, and ecological factors explain long-run (36-year) changes in European countries’ happiness (life satisfaction). Considering six potential predictors advanced in the pertinent literature, they found only rising welfare state generosity to be significantly associated with rising happiness. Noticing a salient characteristic of the data used – a strong and significant association between happiness trends and initial happiness levels – I modify this analysis by controlling for initial happiness levels and by considering long-run relative changes in addition to absolute changes in happiness. Both modifications respond to the circumstance that happiness scales are bounded so that it is hard for happiness to increase – especially in absolute terms – if it is already high. I find the inclusion of initial happiness to greatly increase the explanatory power (R2) of the regression models considered and, as a consequence, to raise the precision of coefficient estimates. Due to increased precision, not only welfare state generosity but also growth in per-capita GDP is found to significantly predict both absolute and relative long-run changes in countries’ happiness, whereas other candidate explanatory variables remain insignificant. Welfare state generosity and GDP growth are not only statistically, but also economically significant. |
| Keywords: | happiness; life satisfaction; welfare policy; economic growth; Easterlin Paradox |
| Date: | 2024–11 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:old:dpaper:447 |