Happiness – wie Glück, Arbeit und Einkommen zusammenhängen
Das Streben nach Glück ist ein zentrales Element im Leben, wobei das individuelle Wohlbefinden sowohl persönliche als auch gesellschaftliche Ursachen hat. Welchen Einfluss haben Wirtschaftsentwicklung, Einkommen, der berufliche Werdegang oder Arbeitslosigkeitserfahrungen auf das Glücksempfinden eines Menschen? Die IAB-Infoplattform bietet hierzu aktuelle Literatur.
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Literaturhinweis
Money and Happiness: Income, Wealth and Subjective Well-Being (2020)
Zitatform
D’Ambrosio, Conchita, Markus Jäntti & Anthony Lepinteur (2020): Money and Happiness: Income, Wealth and Subjective Well-Being. In: Social indicators research, Jg. 148, H. 1, S. 47-66. DOI:10.1007/s11205-019-02186-w
Abstract
"We examine the complex relationship between money and happiness. We find that both permanent income and wealth are better predictors of life satisfaction than current income and wealth. They matter not only in absolute terms but also in comparative terms. However, their relative impacts differ. The first exerts a comparison effect—the higher the permanent income of the reference group, the lower life satisfaction—the second exerts an information effect—the higher the permanent wealth of the reference group, the higher life satisfaction. We also show that negative transitory shocks to income reduce life satisfaction while transitory shocks to wealth have no effect. Lastly, we analyse the effects of their components and find that not all of them predict life satisfaction: permanent taxes do not matter, while only the value of permanent real estate, financial and business assets do. Finally, we use quantile regression and analyse to what extent our results vary along the well-being distribution, finding the impacts to be larger at lower levels of life satisfaction." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku, © Springer-Verlag) ((en))
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Literaturhinweis
Education, income and happiness: panel evidence for the UK (2020)
FitzRoy, Felix R.; Nolan, Michael A.;Zitatform
FitzRoy, Felix R. & Michael A. Nolan (2020): Education, income and happiness: panel evidence for the UK. In: Empirical economics, Jg. 58, H. 5, S. 2573-2592. DOI:10.1007/s00181-018-1586-5
Abstract
"Using panel data from the BHPS and its Understanding Society extension, we study life satisfaction (LS) and income over nearly two decades, for samples split by education, and age, to our knowledge for the first time. The highly educated went from lowest to highest LS, though their average income was always higher. In spite of rapid income growth up to 2008/2009, the less educated showed no rise in LS, while highly educated LS rose after the crash despite declining real income. In panel LS regressions with individual fixed effects, none of the income variables was significant for the highly educated." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku, © Springer-Verlag) ((en))
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Literaturhinweis
Happiness in Hard Times: Does Religion Buffer the Negative Effect of Unemployment on Happiness? (2020)
Hastings, Orestes P.; Roeser, Kassandra K.;Zitatform
Hastings, Orestes P. & Kassandra K. Roeser (2020): Happiness in Hard Times: Does Religion Buffer the Negative Effect of Unemployment on Happiness? In: Social forces, Jg. 99, H. 2, S. 447-473. DOI:10.1093/sf/soaa018
Abstract
"Two well-known findings are that the religious are happier than the non-religious, and people are less happy when they lose their job. We investigate a link between these by asking whether religion buffers against the negative effect of unemployment on happiness. Although theorized or implicitly assumed in many studies, empirical demonstrations of a causal, moderating effect of religion have been infrequent and often not strong methodologically. We conduct individual-level fixed effects models to test for the buffering effect in the US context using recent panel data from the 2006–2014 General Social Surveys. Religious service attendance, belief in life after death, and trying to carry one's religious beliefs over into other dealings in life all substantially buffered the effect of unemployment on happiness. Praying daily, believing God exists, identifying as a religious person, and having a religious affiliation did not. We discuss these results in the context of prior work and existing theory. To further support a causal interpretation of these findings, we also conduct a secondary analysis showing that unemployment does not appear to increase or decrease religiousness. This paper makes an important sociological contribution to the growing field of happiness research and to our understanding of how religion matters to people during hard times." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))
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Literaturhinweis
Langfristige Wirkungen eines nicht abgeschlossenen Studiums auf individuelle Arbeitsmarktergebnisse und die allgemeine Lebenszufriedenheit (2020)
Heigle, Julia; Pfeiffer, Friedhelm;Zitatform
Heigle, Julia & Friedhelm Pfeiffer (2020): Langfristige Wirkungen eines nicht abgeschlossenen Studiums auf individuelle Arbeitsmarktergebnisse und die allgemeine Lebenszufriedenheit. (ZEW discussion paper 2020-004), Mannheim, 21 S.
Abstract
"To the best of our knowledge, this study is the first study for Germany to assess the long-term impacts of studying without graduating on three labour market outcomes (working hours, wages, and occupational prestige), and on overall life satisfaction, on the basis of a sample of employed individuals from the Socio-Economic Panel (SOEP) who possess a university entrance qualification. The impact is analyzed relative to individuals who have never been enrolled in university study (baseline group) and to individuals that have attained a university degree. The impacts are assessed by means of a double machine learning procedure that accounts for selection into the three educational paths and generates the counterfactual outcomes for the different paths. The findings indicate an average impact of studying without graduating of plus 5 percentage points on occupational prestige, and minus 2.8 percentage points on life satisfaction relative to the baseline group. The estimates for wages and working hours are not significant. The effects of graduating on all outcomes is positive and substantial relative to studying without graduating or not studying at all." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))
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Literaturhinweis
Parental Well-Being in Times of Covid-19 in Germany (2020)
Zitatform
Huebener, Mathias, Sevrin Waights, Stephen P. Jenkins, Nico A. Siegel & Gert G. Wagner (2020): Parental Well-Being in Times of Covid-19 in Germany. (CESifo working paper 8487), München, 39 S.
Abstract
"We examine the differential effects of Covid-19 and related restrictions on individuals with dependent children in Germany. We specifically focus on the role of school and day care center closures, which may be regarded as a “disruptive exogenous shock” to family life. We make use of a novel representative survey of parental well-being collected in May and June 2020 in Germany, when schools and day care centers were closed but while other measures had been relaxed and new infections were low. In our descriptive analysis, we compare well-being during this period with a pre-crisis period for different groups. In a difference-in-differences design, we compare the change for individuals with children to the change for individuals without children, accounting for unrelated trends as well as potential survey mode and context effects. We find that the crisis lowered the relative well-being of individuals with children, especially for individuals with young children, for women, and for persons with lower secondary schooling qualifications. Our results suggest that public policy measures taken to contain Covid-19 can have large effects on family well-being, with implications for child development and parental labor market outcomes." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))
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Literaturhinweis
Endogenous selection bias and cumulative inequality over the life course: evidence from educational inequality in subjective well-being (2020)
Zitatform
Kratz, Fabian & Alexander Patzina (2020): Endogenous selection bias and cumulative inequality over the life course. Evidence from educational inequality in subjective well-being. In: European Sociological Review, Jg. 36, H. 3, S. 333-350., 2019-11-07. DOI:10.1093/esr/jcaa003
Abstract
"According to theories of cumulative (dis-)advantage, inequality increases over the life course. Labour market research has seized this argument to explain the increasing economic inequality as people age. However, evidence for cumulative (dis-)advantage in subjective well-being remains ambiguous, and a prominent study from the United States has reported contradictory results. Here, we reconcile research on inequality in subjective well-being with theories of cumulative (dis-)advantage. We argue that the age-specific endogenous selection of the (survey) population results in decreasing inequalities in subjective well-being means whereas individual-level changes show a pattern of cumulative (dis-)advantage. Using repeated cross-sectional data from the European Social Survey (N = 15,252) and employing hierarchical age-period-cohort models, we replicate the finding of decreasing inequality from the United States with the same research design for Germany. Using panel data from the German Socio-Economic Panel Study (persons = 47,683, person-years = 360,306) and employing growth curve models, we show that this pattern of decreasing inequality in subjective well-being means is accompanied by increasing inequality in intra-individual subjective well-being changes. This pattern arises because disadvantaged groups, such as the low educated and individuals with low subjective well-being show lower probabilities of continuing to participate in a survey and because both determinants reinforce each other. In addition to allowing individual changes and attrition processes to be examined, the employed multi-cohort panel data have further key advantages for examining inequality in subjective well-being over the life course: They require weaker assumptions to control for period and cohort effects and make it possible to control for interviewer effects that may influence the results." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))
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Literaturhinweis
Life satisfaction of employees, labour market tightness and matching efficiency (2020)
Zitatform
Pedraza, Pablo de, Martin Guzi & Kea Tijdens (2020): Life satisfaction of employees, labour market tightness and matching efficiency. (IZA discussion paper 12961), Bonn, 24 S.
Abstract
"Di Tella et al. (2001) show that temporary fluctuations in life satisfaction (LS) are correlated with macroeconomic circumstances such as gross domestic product, unemployment, and inflation. In this paper, we bring attention to labour market measures from search and matching models (Pissarides 2000). Our analysis follows the two-stage estimation strategy used in Di Tella et al. (2001) to explore sectoral unemployment levels, labour market tightness, and matching efficiency as LS determinants. In the first stage, we use a large sample of individual data collected from a continuous web survey during the 2007-2014 period in the Netherlands to obtain regression-adjusted measures of LS by quarter and economic sector. In the second-stage, we regress LS measures against the unemployment level, labour market tightness, and matching efficiency. Our results are threefold. First, the negative link between unemployment and an employee’s LS is confirmed at the sectoral level. Second, labour market tightness, measured as the number of vacancies per jobseeker rather than the number of vacancies per unemployed, is shown to be relevant to the LS of workers. Third, labour market matching efficiency affects the LS of workers differently when they are less satisfied with their job and in temporary employment. No evidence of this relationship has been documented before Our results give support to government interventions aimed at activating demand for labour, improving the matching of job-seekers to vacant jobs, and reducing information frictions by supporting matchmaking technologies." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))
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Literaturhinweis
Temps dip deeper: Temporary employment and the midlife nadir in human well-being (2020)
Piper, Alan;Zitatform
Piper, Alan (2020): Temps dip deeper: Temporary employment and the midlife nadir in human well-being. (SOEPpapers on multidisciplinary panel data research at DIW Berlin 1109), Berlin, 28 S.
Abstract
"Temporary employees rank lower than permanent employees on various measures of mental and physical health, including well-being. In parallel, much research has shown that the relationship between age and well-being traces an approximate U-shape, with a nadir in midlife. Temporary employment may well have different associations with well-being across the lifespan, likely harming people in midlife more than at the start of their working lives. Using over twenty years of the German Socio-economic panel (SOEP), this investigation considers the relationship between temporary employment, age and well-being. In doing so, it both sheds new light on the relationship between temporary employment and well-being, and explores a reason for the oft-found U-shaped relationship between age and well-being. The results show that temporary employment deepens the U-shape in midlife, and that this result holds when many socioeconomic factors as well as the industry, region, cohort, personality, employment security and job worries are taken into account. Furthermore, the investigation considers transitions between permanent and temporary employment and uses these to assess causation and selection." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))
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Literaturhinweis
Balancing flexibility and security in Europe? The impact of unemployment on young peoples' subjective well-being (2020)
Russell, Helen; Leschke, Janine; Smith, Mark;Zitatform
Russell, Helen, Janine Leschke & Mark Smith (2020): Balancing flexibility and security in Europe? The impact of unemployment on young peoples' subjective well-being. In: European journal of industrial relations, Jg. 26, H. 3, S. 243-261. DOI:10.1177/0959680119840570
Abstract
"We examine the relationship between 'flexicurity' systems, unemployment and well-being outcomes for young people in Europe. A key tenet of the flexicurity approach is that greater flexibility of labour supply supports transitions into employment, trading longer-term employment stability for short-term job instability. However, there is a risk that young people experience greater job insecurity, both objective and subjective, with less stable contracts and more frequent unemployment spells. Our research draws on data from the European Social Survey and uses multi-level models to explore whether and how flexibility-security arrangements moderate the effect of past and present unemployment on the well-being of young people. We distinguish between flexibility-security institutions that foster improved job prospects and those that provide financial security." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))
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Literaturhinweis
Men Lose Life Satisfaction with Fewer Hours in Employment: Mothers Do Not Profit from Longer Employment: Evidence from Eight Panels (2020)
Zitatform
Schröder, Martin (2020): Men Lose Life Satisfaction with Fewer Hours in Employment: Mothers Do Not Profit from Longer Employment. Evidence from Eight Panels. In: Social indicators research, Jg. 152, H. 1, S. 317-334. DOI:10.1007/s11205-020-02433-5
Abstract
"This article uses random and fixed effects regressions with 743,788 observations from panels of East and West Germany, the UK, Australia, South Korea, Russia, Switzerland and the United States. It shows how the life satisfaction of men and especially fathers in these countries increases steeply with paid working hours. In contrast, the life satisfaction of childless women is less related to long working hours, while the life satisfaction of mothers hardly depends on working hours at all. In addition, women and especially mothers are more satisfied with life when their male partners work longer, while the life satisfaction of men hardly depend on their female partners' work hours. These differences between men and women are starker where gender attitudes are more traditional. They cannot be explained through differences in income, occupations, partner characteristics, period or cohort effects. These results contradict role expansionist theory, which suggests that men and women profit similarly from moderate work hours; they support role conflict theory, which claims that men are most satisfied with longer and women with shorter work hours." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku, © Springer-Verlag) ((en))
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Literaturhinweis
Wissenschaftskarriere als Glückspiel? Zur Karriererelevanz von Glück aus professoraler Sicht (2019)
Berli, Oliver; Reuter, Julia; Hammann, Bernd;Zitatform
Berli, Oliver, Bernd Hammann & Julia Reuter (2019): Wissenschaftskarriere als Glückspiel? Zur Karriererelevanz von Glück aus professoraler Sicht. In: Beiträge zur Hochschulforschung, Jg. 41, H. 4, S. 114-134.
Abstract
"Erfolgreiche Wissenschaftskarrieren werden häufig als das Resultat von persönlich erbrachten Leistungen betrachtet. Jedoch lässt sich Karriereerfolg mit Blick auf fremdes Handeln auch als „Glück“ deuten. Hier ist im wissenschaftlichen Feld eine interessante Spannung zwischen Leistungsglauben und Infragestellung desselben zu beobachten. An dieser Spannung setzt der vorliegende Artikel an und behandelt die Frage der Relevanz von Glück für wissenschaftliche Karrieren aus der Sicht von Professorinnen und Professoren. Grundlage bilden Daten einer standardisierten Befragung dieser Gruppe in ausgewählten Fächern an promotionsberechtigten Hochschulen in Deutschland. Hauptaugenmerk liegt auf den Faktoren, welche mit dem Glauben an die Karriererelevanz von Glück zusammenhängen. Dabei zeigt sich, dass der Glaube an Glück einerseits mit konkreten negativen Erfahrungen im Karriereverlauf, andererseits aber auch mit der Fachkultur sowie der Einschätzung anderer Karrierefaktoren zusammenhängt." (Autorenreferat, IAB-Doku)
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Literaturhinweis
Patterns of labour market participation and their impact on the well-being of older women (2019)
Zitatform
Chłoń-Domińczak, Agnieszka, Iga Magda & Pawel A. Strzelecki (2019): Patterns of labour market participation and their impact on the well-being of older women. In: A. Börsch-Supan, J. Bristle, K. Andersen-Ranberg, A. Brugiavini, F. Jusot, H. Litwin & G. Weber (Hrsg.) (2019): Health and socio-economic status over the life course : First results from SHARE Waves 6 and 7, S. 129-139. DOI:10.1515/9783110617245-013
Abstract
"We focus on identifying the patterns of the full and interrupted careers of women in 13 European countries that participated in the third and subsequent waves of SHARE, in particular the retrospective SHARELIFE survey. Using the survey results, we distinguish women who have had full or interrupted labour market careers. We also analyse differences in the patterns of women's interrupted careers among countries. We then assess whether a link exists between the pattern of labour market career and the current socio-economic situation of older women, including their health, income and life satisfaction levels. Thus, we contribute to studies on various dimensions of life at later stages." (Text excerpt, IAB-Doku) ((en))
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Literaturhinweis
Relative Pay, Rank and Happiness: A Comparison Between Genders and Part- and Full-Time Employees (2019)
Zitatform
Collischon, Matthias (2019): Relative Pay, Rank and Happiness: A Comparison Between Genders and Part- and Full-Time Employees. In: Journal of happiness studies, Jg. 20, H. 1, S. 67-80., 2017-11-01. DOI:10.1007/s10902-017-9937-z
Abstract
"This paper investigates the effects of comparison pay on job and life satisfaction with longitudinal survey data from Germany. I use linear fixed effects models to account for unobserved heterogeneity and define the reference groups as individuals within the same occupation and industry. Men and women are expected to behave differently to comparison pay and are therefore investigated separately. Additionally, I investigate full- and part-time employees separately because the effect of relative positions in the reference group should affect life satisfaction for full-time employees only. The findings indicate that both relative pay and the individual rank within the respective reference group affect job and life satisfaction for full-time employed males only, while part-time employed females gain job satisfaction with increasing rank within their reference group. Part-time employees experience no change in their life satisfaction due to changes in either inequality dimension." (Author's abstract, © 2019 Springer Nature ((en))
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Literaturhinweis
Social mobility and life satisfaction across European countries: A compositional perspective on dissociative consequences of social mobility (2019)
Zitatform
Dhoore, Jasper, Stijn Daenekindt & Henk Roose (2019): Social mobility and life satisfaction across European countries. A compositional perspective on dissociative consequences of social mobility. In: Social indicators research, Jg. 144, H. 3, S. 1257-1272. DOI:10.1007/s11205-019-02083-2
Abstract
"A classic claim in social mobility effects research holds that social mobility is a disruptive and harmful experience. It has been suggested that the experience of social mobility is less disruptive when mobility at the national level is high, because this increases the social and cultural heterogeneity of social classes, which may facilitate the adaptation to the social class of destination. In this article we empirically test the tenability of this claim for social class mobility and life satisfaction. Using Diagonal Reference Models on data for 44 European countries from the 2008 European Values Study, we find evidence for processes of acculturation: the life satisfaction of socially mobile individuals is associated with the class of origin and destination. There is no evidence for effects of social mobility over and above those of social class position of origin and destination. Interestingly, in contrast to suggestions from the literature, national upward or downward mobility rates do not moderate the effect of social mobility on life satisfaction. This study suggests that class heterogeneity does not influence the difficulty of the adaptation to the social class of destination." (Author's abstract, © Springer-Verlag) ((en))
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Literaturhinweis
Education as self-fulfilment and self-satisfaction (2019)
Donlevy, Vicky; Driel, Barry van; McGrath, Cecile Hoareau;Zitatform
Donlevy, Vicky, Barry van Driel & Cecile Hoareau McGrath (2019): Education as self-fulfilment and self-satisfaction. (JRC working papers series on labour, education and technology 2019,06), Sevilla, 52 S.
Abstract
"Key drivers of contemporary rapid changes in the educational realm relate to ongoing technological, demographic, economic and social developments in modern European societies. These developments are having an impact on education throughout the lifespan, including a shift to a focus on new types of competences. This shift is becoming increasingly profound in a dynamic, multicultural, and interconnected Europe. The evidence, from various fields of research, shows that non-cognitive competences such as resilience, creativity, and empathy - as well as those noncognitive competences associated with social-emotional learning and active citizenship - have a positive impact on well-being and also performance. This paper takes a closer look at recent developments relating to these issues across the EU, both in terms of challenges and opportunities, and identifies practices that can serve as inspiration for future policies and practices. The paper reviews the literature as well as current practice related to trends, drivers, practices and future developments relating to four key sub-topics: non-cognitive competences as a broader topic; then resilience, creativity, and active citizenship as more specific sub-topics." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))
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Literaturhinweis
Higher tax and less work: An optimal response to relative income concern (2019)
Fitzroy, Felix; Jin, Jim; Nolan, Michael;Zitatform
Fitzroy, Felix, Jim Jin & Michael Nolan (2019): Higher tax and less work: An optimal response to relative income concern. (IZA discussion paper 12468), Bonn, 21 S.
Abstract
"There is much evidence that relative income concern reduces subjective wellbeing and raises labour supply - 'keeping up with the Joneses' (KUJ), while increasing use of social media and growing inequality encourage comparison. Models with one or two agent - types generally miss the policy relevant dimension of labour force participation, so we include a distribution of wages with intensive and extensive margins of labour supply, both of which are increased by comparison. The optimal tax response increases with comparison, but, surprisingly, dominates the comparison effect and reduces individual labour supply, thus reversing KUJ, and maintains constant employment, independent of comparison." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))
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Literaturhinweis
Looking back in anger? Retirement and unemployment scarring (2019)
Zitatform
Hetschko, Clemens, Andreas Knabe & Ronnie Schöb (2019): Looking back in anger? Retirement and unemployment scarring. In: Demography, Jg. 56, H. 3, S. 1105-1129., 2018-10-31. DOI:10.1007/s13524-019-00778-2
Abstract
"Unemployment affects future working conditions and job security negatively, thus reducing life satisfaction after reemployment. These employment-related scars of unemployment should not matter anymore when a person has retired. Using German panel data, we analyze unemployed persons' transition into retirement to test whether unemployment leaves scars beyond working life and thus for reasons that are not employment-related. We find that involuntary unemployment between the last job and retirement causes a loss in life satisfaction after retirement. People who influenced or even initiated unemployment, by contrast, show no scarring. The scarring effect goes beyond what can be explained by the income loss originating from reduced pensions. It shows up independently of whether the unemployment spell directly before retirement was the only experience of unemployment in a person's career, or whether she had also experienced unemployment at earlier times. We do not find evidence that early retirement or involuntary retirement are the reasons why formerly unemployed retirees display unemployment scarring." (Author's abstract, © Springer-Verlag) ((en))
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Literaturhinweis
Unemployment, well-being, and the moderating role of education policies: A multilevel study (2019)
Zitatform
Högberg, Björn, Jonas Voßemer, Michael Gebel & Mattias Strandh (2019): Unemployment, well-being, and the moderating role of education policies. A multilevel study. In: International Journal of Comparative Sociology, Jg. 60, H. 4, S. 269-291. DOI:10.1177/0020715219874386
Abstract
"This article aims to investigate if education policies moderate the association between unemployment and well-being among young adults. Based on the capability approach, we argue that education policies mitigate the negative effects of unemployment by providing opportunities for education and thus ways to exit unemployment. Education policies can strengthen capabilities, enhance the control that individuals have over their situation, and thereby reduce the stress associated with unemployment. We estimated cross-level interactions between education policies and unemployment status using multilevel methods and data from the European Social Survey. Results showed that policies that increase educational opportunities - such as generous second chance opportunities - were associated with smaller negative effects of unemployment on well-being and that this moderating impact was stronger for young adults with low education. Further analyses show that education policies are also associated with perceived capabilities among unemployed, supporting the proposed mechanism." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))
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Literaturhinweis
Labor market policy and subjective well-being during the Great Recession (2019)
Morgan, Robson; O'Connor, Kelsey J.;Zitatform
Morgan, Robson & Kelsey J. O'Connor (2019): Labor market policy and subjective well-being during the Great Recession. (GLO discussion paper / Global Labor Organization 372), Maastricht, 32 S.
Abstract
"Average subjective well-being decreased in Europe during the Great Recession, primarily among people with less than a college education and people younger than retirement age. However, some countries fared better than others depending on their labor market policies. More generous unemployment support, which provided income replacement or programs to assist unemployed workers find jobs, mitigated the negative effects for most of the population, although not youth. In contrast, stricter employment protection legislation exacerbated the negative effects. We present further evidence that suggests the exacerbating effects of employment protection legislation are due to greater rigidities in the labor market, which in turn affect perceived future job prospects. Our analysis is based on two-stage least squares regressions using individual subjective wellbeing data obtained from Eurobarometer surveys and variation in labor market policy across 23 European countries." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))
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Literaturhinweis
Increases in wellbeing in the transition to retirement for the unemployed: catching up with formerly employed persons (2019)
Zitatform
Ponomarenko, Valentina, Anja K. Leist & Louis Chauvel (2019): Increases in wellbeing in the transition to retirement for the unemployed. Catching up with formerly employed persons. In: Ageing and society, Jg. 39, H. 2, S. 254-276. DOI:10.1017/S0144686X17000976
Abstract
"This paper examines the extent to which wellbeing levels change in the transition to retirement depending on transitioning from being employed, unemployed or economically inactive. Whereas transitioning from employment to unemployment has been found to cause a decrease in subjective wellbeing with more time spent in unemployment, it is not clear how transitioning from unemployment to retirement affects wellbeing levels. We use the Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe to monitor the life satisfaction of respondents who retire in between two waves. We portray wellbeing scores before and after retirement and then identify the change in life satisfaction during the retirement transition using a First Difference model. Results indicate that being unemployed before retirement is associated with an increase in life satisfaction, but presents mainly a catching-up effect compared to employed persons transitioning to retirement. These results are still significant if we control for selection into unemployment and country differences. Retirement from labour market inactivity does not lead to significant changes in wellbeing. As the wellbeing of unemployed persons recovers after transitioning to retirement, especially the currently unemployed population should be supported to prevent detrimental consequences of economically unfavourable conditions and lower wellbeing." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))