nep-hap New Economics Papers
on Economics of Happiness
Issue of 2023‒01‒30
five papers chosen by
  1. Wellbeing Rankings By David G. Blanchflower; Alex Bryson
  2. Height and Well-Being During the Transition from Plan to Market By Alícia Adserà; Francesca Dalla Pozza; Sergei Guriev; Lukas Kleine-Rueschkamp; Elena Nikolova
  3. Healthy diets, lifestyle changes and well-being during and after lockdown : longitudinal evidence from the West Midlands By Van Rens, Thijs; Hanson, Petra; Oyebode, Oyinlola; Walasek, Lukasz; Barber, Thomas M; Al-Khudairy, Lena
  4. The Age U-shape in Europe: The Protective Role of Partnership By Andrew E. Clark; Hippolyte d'Albis; Angela Greulich
  5. Well‐being during the Great Recession: new evidence from a measure of multi‐dimensional living standards with heterogeneous preferences* By Romina Boarini; Marc Fleurbaey; Fabrice Murtin; Paul Schreyer
  1. By: David G. Blanchflower; Alex Bryson
    Abstract: Combining data on around four million respondents from the Gallup World Poll and the US Daily Tracker Poll we rank 164 countries, the 50 states of the United States and the District of Colombia on eight wellbeing measures. These are four positive affect measures - life satisfaction, enjoyment, smiling and being well-rested – and four negative affect variables – pain, sadness, anger and worry. Pooling the data for 2008-2017 we find country and state rankings differ markedly depending on whether they are ranked using positive or negative affect measures. The United States ranks lower on negative than positive affect, that is, its country wellbeing ranking looks worse using negative affect than it does when using positive affect. Combining rankings on all eight measures into a summary ranking index for 215 geographical locations we find that nine of the top ten and 16 of the top 20 ranked are US states. Only one US state ranks outside the top 100 – West Virginia (101). Iraq ranks lowest - just below South Sudan. Country-level rankings on the summary wellbeing index differ sharply from those reported in the World Happiness Index and are more comparable to those obtained with the Human Development Index.
    JEL: O57
    Date: 2022–12
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:30759&r=hap
  2. By: Alícia Adserà (Princeton University); Francesca Dalla Pozza (EBRD - European Bank for Reconstruction and Development - EBRD); Sergei Guriev (ECON - Département d'économie (Sciences Po) - Sciences Po - Sciences Po - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, CEPR - Center for Economic Policy Research - CEPR); Lukas Kleine-Rueschkamp (University of Oxford [Oxford], OCDE - Organisation de Coopération et de Développement Economiques = Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development); Elena Nikolova (UCL - University College of London [London])
    Abstract: Using newly available data, we re-evaluate the impact of transition from plan to market in former communist countries on objective and subjective well-being. We find clear evidence of the high social cost of early transition reforms: cohorts born around the start of transition are about 1 cm shorter than their older or younger peers. We provide suggestive evidence on the importance on mechanisms that partially explain these results: the decline of GDP per capita and the deterioration of healthcare systems. On the bright side, we find that cohorts that experienced transition in their infancy are now better educated and more satisfied with their lives than their counterparts. Taken together, our results imply that the transition process has been a traumatic experience, but that its negative impact has largely been overcome.
    Keywords: Transition from plan to market, Structural reforms, Height, Well-being
    Date: 2021–01–01
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:journl:hal-03878624&r=hap
  3. By: Van Rens, Thijs (Department of Economics, University of Warwick); Hanson, Petra (Endocrinology and Metabolism, University of Warwick); Oyebode, Oyinlola (Queen Mary University of London); Walasek, Lukasz (Department of Psychology, University of Warwick); Barber, Thomas M (Endocrinology and Metabolism, University Hospital Coventry and Warwickshire); Al-Khudairy, Lena (University of Warwick)
    Abstract: Lockdowns’ to control the spread of COVID-19 in the UK affected many aspects of life and may have adversely affected diets. We aimed to examine (1) the effect of lockdowns on fruit and vegetable consumption, as a proxy for healthy diets more generally, and on weight and well-being, (2) whether any subgroup was particularly affected and (3) the barriers and facilitators to a healthy diet in lockdown. We find no evidence for decreased fruit and vegetable consumption during lockdown compared with afterwards. If anything, consumption increased by half a portion daily among women, particularly among those who normally have a long commute. This finding, combined with a significant increase in physical activity, suggests that behaviours were healthier during lockdown, consistent with higher self-reported health. However, well-being deteriorated markedly, and participants reported being heavier during the lockdown as well. Our qualitative data suggest that an abundance of resources (more time) supported higher fruit and vegetable consumption during lockdown, despite increased access issues. Our results may assuage concerns that lockdowns adversely affected diets. They may point to the impact of commuting on diet, particularly for women. We add longitudinal evidence to a growing body of literature on the adverse effect of lockdown on mental health.
    Date: 2023
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wrk:warwec:1446&r=hap
  4. By: Andrew E. Clark (PSE - Paris School of Economics - UP1 - Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne - ENS-PSL - École normale supérieure - Paris - PSL - Université Paris sciences et lettres - EHESS - École des hautes études en sciences sociales - ENPC - École des Ponts ParisTech - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique - INRAE - Institut National de Recherche pour l’Agriculture, l’Alimentation et l’Environnement, PJSE - Paris Jourdan Sciences Economiques - UP1 - Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne - ENS-PSL - École normale supérieure - Paris - PSL - Université Paris sciences et lettres - EHESS - École des hautes études en sciences sociales - ENPC - École des Ponts ParisTech - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique - INRAE - Institut National de Recherche pour l’Agriculture, l’Alimentation et l’Environnement); Hippolyte d'Albis (PSE - Paris School of Economics - UP1 - Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne - ENS-PSL - École normale supérieure - Paris - PSL - Université Paris sciences et lettres - EHESS - École des hautes études en sciences sociales - ENPC - École des Ponts ParisTech - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique - INRAE - Institut National de Recherche pour l’Agriculture, l’Alimentation et l’Environnement, PJSE - Paris Jourdan Sciences Economiques - UP1 - Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne - ENS-PSL - École normale supérieure - Paris - PSL - Université Paris sciences et lettres - EHESS - École des hautes études en sciences sociales - ENPC - École des Ponts ParisTech - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique - INRAE - Institut National de Recherche pour l’Agriculture, l’Alimentation et l’Environnement); Angela Greulich (Sciences Po - Sciences Po)
    Abstract: In this study, we ask whether the U-shaped relationship between life satisfactionand age is flatter for individuals who are partnered. An analysis of cross-sectionalEU-SILC data indicates that the decline in life satisfaction from the teens to thefifties is almost four times larger for non-partnered than for partnered individuals, whose life satisfaction essentially follows a slight downward trajectory with age.However, the same analysis applied to three panel datasets (BHPS, SOEP andHILDA) reveals a U-shape for both groups, albeit somewhat flatter for the partneredthan for the non-partnered individuals. We suggest that the difference between thecross-sectional and the panel results reflects compositional effects: i.e., there isa significant shift of the relatively dissatisfied out of marriage in mid-life. Thesecompositional effects tend to flatten the U-shape in age for the partnered individualsin the cross-sectional data.
    Keywords: Life satisfaction, Life cycle, Partnership, Marriage
    Date: 2021
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:spmain:halshs-03467204&r=hap
  5. By: Romina Boarini (OCDE - Organisation de Coopération et de Développement Economiques = Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development); Marc Fleurbaey (PSE - Paris School of Economics - UP1 - Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne - ENS-PSL - École normale supérieure - Paris - PSL - Université Paris sciences et lettres - EHESS - École des hautes études en sciences sociales - ENPC - École des Ponts ParisTech - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique - INRAE - Institut National de Recherche pour l’Agriculture, l’Alimentation et l’Environnement, PJSE - Paris Jourdan Sciences Economiques - UP1 - Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne - ENS-PSL - École normale supérieure - Paris - PSL - Université Paris sciences et lettres - EHESS - École des hautes études en sciences sociales - ENPC - École des Ponts ParisTech - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique - INRAE - Institut National de Recherche pour l’Agriculture, l’Alimentation et l’Environnement); Fabrice Murtin (OCDE - Organisation de Coopération et de Développement Economiques = Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development); Paul Schreyer (OCDE - Organisation de Coopération et de Développement Economiques = Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development)
    Abstract: We develop a distribution-adjusted welfare measure that aggregates income, unemployment, and longevity using individual weights that reflect heterogeneous preferences. The measure is implemented for 28 OECD countries for 2008–2013 to gauge the welfare effects of the Great Recession. Estimated shadow prices of one percentage point of unemployment and one year of longevity average 3.1 percent and 5.7 percent of household income, respectively. We find that the rate of GDP growth poorly reflects the social cost of the Great Recession. On average, GDP per capita stagnated across OECD countries between 2008 and 2013 while living standards of poor households fell by 5.3 percent annually.
    Keywords: Beyond GDP, Measurement, Shadow prices, Value of statistical life, Welfare, Well-being, Living standards, Indicator
    Date: 2022–01
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:pseptp:halshs-03907676&r=hap
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