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on Economics of Happiness |
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Issue of 2016‒04‒04
four papers chosen by |
| By: | Dat Vu Hoang (LEDa - Laboratoire d'Economie de Dauphine - Université Paris IX - Paris Dauphine); Laure Pasquier-Doumer (LEDa - DIAL - Laboratoire d'Economie de Dauphine - Economie de la mondialisation et du développement - Université Paris IX - Paris Dauphine) |
| Abstract: | Although multidimensional approach to study child poverty has received growing attention, weights of different dimensions in constructing single aggregation indices have not been properly investigated. Using Young Livesdata, this study attempts to fill this gap by examining a weight estimation method which takes into account the children’s perspectives. This approach consists of computing analytical weights from estimated parameters of asubjective well-being regression model, where children’s subjective well-being is explained by their achievement in dimensions included in multidimensional poverty indices. By doing so, weights reflect valuejudgments of children on what is a good life and are not based on a normative approach. Estimation resultsindicate that revealed preferences of children change overtime and across sub-groups of children. More importantly, this paper demonstrates that children do not give the same value to all dimensions, contrary to whatthe most common approach to calculate weights is supposing. Children then attach more importance to deprivations such as shelter, water and sanitation deprivations, which impact immediately their well-being thanto deprivations which may affect negatively their well-being in the long-term, with the exception of education for some groups of children. |
| Abstract: | L’approche multidimensionnelle pour étudier la pauvreté des enfants a reçu une attention croissante. Pourtant, la question de comment pondérer les différentes dimensions de la pauvreté dans la construction d’un indicateursynthétique de pauvreté reste encore largement sous-étudiée. A partir des données Young Lives, cette étude s’attache à combler cette lacune en examinant une méthode d'estimation des poids qui prend en compte lesperceptions des enfants. Cette approche consiste à calculer le poids à partir des paramètres estimés d'un modèle expliquant le bien-être subjectif des enfants par leur réalisation dans les différentes dimensions de la pauvretéincluse dans l’indice synthétique. Les poids ainsi obtenus reflètent les valeurs des enfants sur ce qu’ils considèrent bien vivre, sans apporter de jugement normatif comme le fait l’approche donnant la même valeur àtoutes les dimensions qui est actuellement suivie au Vietnam. Les résultats indiquent que les préférences révélées des enfants varient au cours du temps et entre sous-groupes d'enfants. Surtout, cette étude démontre queles enfants ne donnent pas la même valeur à toutes les dimensions. Ils attachent plus d'importance à des privations qui ont un impact immédiatement leur bien-être telles que celles relatives aux conditions d’habitat, à l’accès à l’eau, à l’assainissement qu’aux privations qui impactent leur bien-être à plus long-terme, à l'exception de l'éducation pour certains groupes d'enfants. |
| Keywords: | children poverty,weights,Multidimensional poverty index,subjective well-being,Vietnam,bien-être subjectif,pauvreté des enfants,indice de pauvreté multidimensionnelle,pondération |
| Date: | 2016–03–25 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:wpaper:hal-01293233&r=hap |
| By: | Maguire, Karen (Oklahoma State University); Winters, John V. (Oklahoma State University) |
| Abstract: | The United States experienced a considerable increase in oil and natural gas extraction in recent years due to technological advancements including horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing. Increased energy development likely creates both benefits and costs, but the net effects for local residents are not well understood. This paper examines effects of conventional and horizontal oil and natural gas drilling in Texas on subjective assessments of life-satisfaction and bad mental health days for nearby residents. Horizontal drilling has statistically significant deleterious effects on well-being, but the effects are driven by the Dallas-Fort Worth (DFW) metropolitan area, an area with both very high levels of horizontal drilling and a large urban population. |
| Keywords: | energy, drilling, subjective well-being, mental health, natural gas, environment |
| JEL: | I10 Q40 |
| Date: | 2016–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp9811&r=hap |
| By: | Tom Coupe (Kyiv School of Economics); Maksym Obrizan (Kyiv School of Economics) |
| Abstract: | In this paper, we study how war affects happiness using data from the on-going conflict in Ukraine. Using a difference-in-difference design, we find that the average level of happiness declined substantially in zones that experience war directly, with the effect of directly experiencing war on the happiness of an individual being roughly comparable to the loss of happiness a relatively well-off person would experience if he/she were to become a poor person. At the same time, despite the fact that the war in the East dominates the local media in Ukraine, respondents in other regions of Ukraine are basically as happy as they were before the war. We discuss the implications of this finding for the duration of the war and for the expectations regarding the management of veterans. |
| Keywords: | happiness, war, Ukraine |
| JEL: | I3 N44 |
| Date: | 2016–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:kse:dpaper:58&r=hap |
| By: | Kunze, Lars; Suppa, Nicolai |
| Abstract: | Unemployed individuals may regain identity utility through coping strategies, which however vary with age and gender. Using highly detailed German county level data, we test whether the social norm effect of unemployment is age-dependent. The wellbeing differential between the unemployed and the employed is found to increase with the local unemployment rate at the beginning of the working life but to remain steady or even to decrease in older age. Individual unemployment, however, remains an extremely uncomfortable experience even if local unemployment is high. |
| Abstract: | Eine mögliche Bewältigungsstrategie für von Arbeitslosigkeit betroffene Personen besteht darin, Nutzen aus Identität wiederherzustellen. Derartige Strategien sind allerdings alters- und geschlechtsabhängig. Unter Ausnutzung detaillierter Kreisdaten für Deutschland untersuchen wir, ob der soziale Normeffekt von Arbeitslosigkeit altersabhängig ist. In der Tat finden wir, dass die Wohlbefindenslücke zwischen Arbeitslosen und Erwerbstätigen zu Beginn des Erwerbslebens mit der lokalen Arbeitslosenquote wächst, später allerdings unverändert bleibt oder sogar kleiner wird. Insgesamt betrachtet bleibt individuelle Arbeitslosigkeit aber eine äußerst unangenehme Erfahrung, auch bei einer hohen lokalen Arbeitslosenquote. |
| Keywords: | unemployment,life satisfaction,social norms,SOEP |
| JEL: | J64 I31 |
| Date: | 2016 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:rwirep:611&r=hap |