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on Economics of Happiness |
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Issue of 2020‒03‒02
four papers chosen by |
| By: | Kodjovi M. Eklou; Mamour Fall |
| Abstract: | Do discretionary spending cuts and tax increases hurt social well-being? To answer this question, we combine subjective well-being data covering over half a million of individuals across 13 European countries, with macroeconomic data on fiscal consolidations. We find that fiscal consolidations reduce individual well-being in the short run, especially when they are based on spending cuts. In addition, we show that accompanying monetary and exchange rate policies (disinflation, depreciations and the liberalization of capital flows) mitigate the well-being cost of fiscal consolidations. Finally, we investigate the well-being consequences of the two well-knowns expansionary fiscal consolidations episodes taking place in the 80s (in Denmark and Ireland). We find that even expansionary fiscal consolidations can have well-being costs. Our results may therefore shed some light on why some governments may choose to consolidate through taxes even at the cost of economic growth. Indeed, if spending cuts are to generate a large well-being loss, they can trigger an opposition and protest against a fiscal consolidation plan and hence making it politically costly. |
| Keywords: | Fiscal consolidation;Tax increases;Fiscal policy;Gross capital formation;Economic conditions;Fiscal Consolidations,Subjective Well-Being,Spending cuts,Tax hikes,WP,life satisfaction,spend cut,tax hike,well-being |
| Date: | 2020–01–17 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:imf:imfwpa:20/5&r=all |
| By: | Kim,Yeon Soo; Matytsin,Mikhail; Freije-Rodriguez,Samuel |
| Abstract: | This paper finds that informal workers are more likely to have inferior work conditions, but do not necessarily report worse subjective well-being. Starting with lower wages, but also with less regularity of hours and paid vacation, informal workers have higher incidence of envelope payments than formal workers but not of hazardous or unstable jobs. After controlling for work conditions, informal workers do not have statistically significantly lower job satisfaction and under no specification are informal workers more likely to self-assess worse health than formal workers. Finally, there is some association between informal employment and household poverty and life satisfaction, but it is not robust to changes in econometric specification or sample composition. The authors conclude that the evidence indicates that informal employment in the Russian Federation is mostly a problem of labor productivity and the design of the social protection system, but worsening wages and some association between informality and household poverty indicate that informality may also be a social equity problem. |
| Keywords: | Employment and Unemployment,Rural Labor Markets,Labor Markets,Health Care Services Industry |
| Date: | 2019–08–20 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wbk:wbrwps:8989&r=all |
| By: | Cheng-Yi (Department of Business Administration, Ming Chuan University, Taipei, Taiwan, Author-2-Name: Jehn-Yih Author-2-Workplace-Name: Department of Tourism, Ming Chuan University, Taipei, Taiwan Author-3-Name: Wong Author-3-Workplace-Name: Department of Tourism, Ming Chuan University, Taipei, Taiwan Author-4-Name: Author-4-Workplace-Name: Author-5-Name: Author-5-Workplace-Name: Author-6-Name: Author-6-Workplace-Name: Author-7-Name: Author-7-Workplace-Name: Author-8-Name: Author-8-Workplace-Name:) |
| Abstract: | Objective - General well-being (GWB) is important for students' mental wellness. This paper explores the motivations of Chinese students who study in Thailand and applies the push and pull model to explain how motivations influence life satisfaction (LS) and GWB. Methodology/Technique - 398 convenience samples from Dhurakij Pundit University were analysed. Findings - The results show that 'personal growth' is the most important push factor for motivation, whereas 'the convenience to go to other cities' is the most important pull factor for motivation. Moreover, overseas study motivations positively influence LS and GWB. Novelty - The theoretical and practical implications and study limitations are also discussed herein. Type of Paper - Empirical. |
| Keywords: | Push and Pull Theory; Life Satisfaction; General Well-being; Chinese Student; Thailand. |
| JEL: | M10 M14 M19 |
| Date: | 2019–09–22 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:gtr:gatrjs:gjbssr543&r=all |
| By: | Byström, Hans (Department of Economics, Lund University) |
| Abstract: | We use the Twitter-based Hedonometer happiness index to study the link between happiness and gold price changes. We find no significant correlation between the two when we look at correlations across the entire distributions. However, turning to an extreme value theory (EVT) modeling of the tails of the non-normally distributed happiness distribution we find that during particularly depressing days the gold price often goes up. In a sense, gold is found to serve as a happiness-related safe haven, i.e. as a hedge against extreme unhappiness. |
| Keywords: | Twitter; happiness; Hedonometer; gold price; tail; extreme value theory |
| JEL: | D83 G14 |
| Date: | 2020–02–24 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hhs:lunewp:2020_001&r=all |