|
on Economics of Happiness |
|
Issue of 2022‒07‒18
six papers chosen by |
| By: | Georgellis, Yannis (University of Kent); Clark, Andrew E. (Paris School of Economics); Apergis, Emmanuel (University of Huddersfield); Robinson, Catherine (University of Kent) |
| Abstract: | We use British panel data to explore the link between occupational status and life satisfaction. We find puzzling evidence, for men, of a U-shaped relationship in cross-section data: employees in medium-status occupations report lower life satisfaction scores than that of employees in either low- or high-status occupations. This puzzle disappears in panel data: the satisfaction of any man rises as he moves up the status ladder. The culprit seems to be immobility: the miserable middle is caused by men who (in our data) have always been in medium-status occupations. There is overall little evidence of a link between occupational status and life satisfaction for women. |
| Keywords: | occupational status, life satisfaction, occupational mobility |
| JEL: | I31 J24 Z13 |
| Date: | 2022–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp15360&r= |
| By: | Thesia Garner; Jake Schild |
| Abstract: | COVID-19 has become a crisis that is impacting lives, economies, and ways of life around the world. Governments have responded with policies to support and protect their populations, businesses have closed or restricted access, and consumers have adapted as best as they could. Determining in the short-run how well these policies might be working and the socio-economic impact of the pandemic on individuals and households resulted in new data collection efforts worldwide and the greater use of rapid response surveys. This research reports one such effort in the United States (U.S.) to collect data using the Household Pulse Survey (HPS), with a focus on the use of government provided economic impact or stimulus payments by households. These payments were expected to have maximum and immediate impacts. Results reveal that household were most likely to use their economic impact payments to pay off debt as opposed to meeting their spending needs. Respondents who report lower levels of subjective well-being are more likely to use the stimulus payment to "mostly pay off debt" The probability of using the stimulus payment to "mostly pay off debt" increases as subjective assessments of well-being worsen. This research is one of the earliest to examine the role subjective assessments of well-being play in determining consumer response to receipt of economic impact payments during the COVID-19 pandemic. |
| Date: | 2021 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:bls:wpaper:540&r= |
| By: | Ekaterina Oparina; Caspar Kaiser; Niccol\`o Gentile; Alexandre Tkatchenko; Andrew E. Clark; Jan-Emmanuel De Neve; Conchita D'Ambrosio |
| Abstract: | There is a vast literature on the determinants of subjective wellbeing. International organisations and statistical offices are now collecting such survey data at scale. However, standard regression models explain surprisingly little of the variation in wellbeing, limiting our ability to predict it. In response, we here assess the potential of Machine Learning (ML) to help us better understand wellbeing. We analyse wellbeing data on over a million respondents from Germany, the UK, and the United States. In terms of predictive power, our ML approaches do perform better than traditional models. Although the size of the improvement is small in absolute terms, it turns out to be substantial when compared to that of key variables like health. We moreover find that drastically expanding the set of explanatory variables doubles the predictive power of both OLS and the ML approaches on unseen data. The variables identified as important by our ML algorithms - $i.e.$ material conditions, health, and meaningful social relations - are similar to those that have already been identified in the literature. In that sense, our data-driven ML results validate the findings from conventional approaches. |
| Date: | 2022–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:arx:papers:2206.00574&r= |
| By: | José María Renteíra (UP1 - Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne, CES - Centre d'économie de la Sorbonne - UP1 - Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique); Dante Solano (University of Leeds) |
| Abstract: | We estimate the influence of teacher subjective well-being (TSWB) on the mathematics learning achievement of public-school students in Peru. Using the National Teacher Survey and the Census Student Assessment, after exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis we identify three dimensions of TSWB: i) workplace relationships, ii) working conditions, and iii) living conditions. We estimate instrumental variables and perform quantile regressions to disentangle the relationship between TSWB and students' learning outcomes. Our results show that TSWB has an inverted U-shaped influence on test scores, suggesting the presence of the "too-much-of-a-good-thing effect", and therefore the existence of an optimal threshold after which its effect becomes detrimental. Workplace relationships appear to be the most influential TSWB factor on students' academic achievement. |
| Abstract: | Nous estimons l'influence du bien-être subjectif des enseignants (TSWB) sur les acquis scolaires en mathématiques des élèves des écoles publiques au Pérou. En utilisant l'Enquête auprès des ménages et le Recensement des acquis scolaires, nous identifions trois dimensions du TSWB suite à une analyse factorielle exploratoire et confirmatoire : i) les relations au travail, ii) les conditions de travail et iii) les conditions de vie. Nous appliquons la méthode des variables instrumentales et effectuons des régressions quantiles afin de démêler la relation entre le TSWB et les acquis scolaires des étudiants. Les résultats montrent que le TSWB a une influence en forme de U inversée sur les résultats des tests, ce qui suggère la présence de l'effet dénommé " too-much-of-a-good-thing ", et donc l'existence d'un seuil optimal au-delà duquel son influence devient préjudiciable. Les relations au travail semblent être le facteur du TSWB le plus important pour la réussite scolaire des élèves. |
| Keywords: | Teacher subjective well-being,learning achievement,Bien-être subjectif,enseignants,acquis scolaires |
| Date: | 2022–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:journl:halshs-03688119&r= |
| By: | José María Renteíra (UP1 - Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne, CES - Centre d'économie de la Sorbonne - UP1 - Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique); Dante Solano (University of Leeds) |
| Abstract: | We estimate the influence of teacher subjective well-being (TSWB) on the mathematics learning achievement of public-school students in Peru. Using the National Teacher Survey and the Census Student Assessment, after exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis we identify three dimensions of TSWB: i) workplace relationships, ii) working conditions, and iii) living conditions. We estimate instrumental variables and perform quantile regressions to disentangle the relationship between TSWB and students' learning outcomes. Our results show that TSWB has an inverted U-shaped influence on test scores, suggesting the presence of the "too-much-of-a-good-thing effect", and therefore the existence of an optimal threshold after which its effect becomes detrimental. Workplace relationships appear to be the most influential TSWB factor on students' academic achievement. |
| Abstract: | Nous estimons l'influence du bien-être subjectif des enseignants (TSWB) sur les acquis scolaires en mathématiques des élèves des écoles publiques au Pérou. En utilisant l'Enquête auprès des ménages et le Recensement des acquis scolaires, nous identifions trois dimensions du TSWB suite à une analyse factorielle exploratoire et confirmatoire : i) les relations au travail, ii) les conditions de travail et iii) les conditions de vie. Nous appliquons la méthode des variables instrumentales et effectuons des régressions quantiles afin de démêler la relation entre le TSWB et les acquis scolaires des étudiants. Les résultats montrent que le TSWB a une influence en forme de U inversée sur les résultats des tests, ce qui suggère la présence de l'effet dénommé " too-much-of-a-good-thing ", et donc l'existence d'un seuil optimal au-delà duquel son influence devient préjudiciable. Les relations au travail semblent être le facteur du TSWB le plus important pour la réussite scolaire des élèves. |
| Keywords: | Teacher subjective well-being,learning achievement,Bien-être subjectif,enseignants,acquis scolaires |
| Date: | 2022–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:cesptp:halshs-03688119&r= |
| By: | Wilner, Lionel; Perona, Mathieu |
| Abstract: | La plupart de nos travaux s’intéressent aux facteurs observables qui ont un effet sur le bien-être subjectif – le revenu, le diplôme, le fait d’être en couple, etc. La satisfaction à l’égard de notre vie peut cependant aussi dépendre non seulement de notre situation actuelle, mais aussi de notre situation passée, et de comment nous l’avons ressenti. Un récent article de recherche jette un éclairage sur cet effet de mémoire, et met en évidence trois résultats principaux : (i) Les personnes les plus satisfaites de leur vie tendent à le rester ; (ii) Au contraire, les personnes les plus insatisfaites le restent moins longtemps ; (iii) Le fait d’être initialement très satisfait ou insatisfait pèse plus lourd dans l’appréciation de sa vie que les principaux facteurs externes. Ces résultats fondent une politique du bien-être qui agit à la fois sur la prévention des chocs négatifs, sur l’accélération des sorties de l’insatisfaction forte, et sur la promotion des facteurs contribuant à un niveau élevé de bien-être. |
| Keywords: | Wellbeing, transition, unhappiness trap |
| Date: | 2022–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cpm:notobe:2208&r= |