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Rose, Damaris & Olga Stavrova (2019): Does life satisfaction predict reemployment? Evidence form German panel data. In: Journal of economic psychology, Jg. 72, H. June, S. 1-11. DOI:10.1016/j.joep.2018.12.008

Abstract

"While life satisfaction has been identified as an important predictor of occupational success, the question of whether it might contribute to reemployment success among unemployed individuals has received much less research attention. Contrasting three theoretical perspectives (motivation theories, positive psychology, and the optimum level of well-being literature), we explored whether life satisfaction has a negative, a positive, or a non-monotonic effect on the likelihood of reemployment. We used large-scale panel data from Germany that gave us the possibility to monitor unemployed individuals' life satisfaction and labor market outcomes for 10?years. Results of a multi-level discrete-time hazard analysis supported the optimum level of well-being perspective providing evidence for an inverted-U-shaped association between life satisfaction and reemployment probability. Moderate levels of life satisfaction were associated with a stronger likelihood of reemployment than lower or higher levels of life satisfaction. This effect remained robust against controlling for individuals' socio-economic characteristics, labor market experience and the Big Five personality traits." (Author's abstract, © 2018 Elsevier) ((en))

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Sage, Daniel (2019): Unemployment, wellbeing and the power of the work ethic. Implications for social policy. In: Critical social policy, Jg. 39, H. 2, S. 205-228. DOI:10.1177/0261018318780910

Abstract

"Unemployment is associated with a range of health and social problems, such as poor physical health and wellbeing. Welfare state research has recently considered how social policies can ameliorate the harmful effects of unemployment. This article argues that such policy suggestions disregard the role of the work ethic in shaping the experience of unemployment. In societies that glorify employment as a signifier of identity and status, it is unsurprising that those without employment suffer. Previous research supports this view, showing how subscription to the work ethic is associated with wellbeing amongst unemployed people. Original analysis of the European Values Study confirms the importance of the work ethic, showing how unemployed people with weaker work ethics have significantly higher life satisfaction than those with stronger work ethics. The article concludes that the most effective way of dealing with the deleterious effects of unemployment is to challenge the centrality of employment in contemporary societies." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Sameem, Sediq & Pavlo Buryi (2019): Impact of unemployment on happiness in the United States. In: Applied Economics Letters, Jg. 26, H. 12, S. 1049-1052. DOI:10.1080/13504851.2018.1529390

Abstract

"This study considers the level of demonstrated happiness and unhappiness, the latter measured by the conditional probability of committing suicide within groups that are facing a higher unemployment rate and those that are not. Using individual-level US data from 1989 to 2004, our findings indicate that individuals have lower rates of suicide or are 'happy' when they live in a state that has lower unemployment rate." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Becker, Dominik & Klaus Birkelbach (2018): Social mobility and subjective well-being revisited. The importance of individual locus of control. In: Research in Social Stratification and Mobility, Jg. 54, H. April, S. 1-20. DOI:10.1016/j.rssm.2018.01.001

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Headey, Bruce & Ruud Muffels (2018): A theory of life satisfaction dynamics: Stability, change and volatility in 25-year life trajectories in Germany. In: Social indicators research, Jg. 140, H. 2, S. 837-866. DOI:10.1007/s11205-017-1785-z

Abstract

"An adequate theory of life satisfaction (LS) needs to take account of both factors that tend to stabilise LS and those that change it. The most widely accepted theory in the recent past -- set-point theory -- focussed solely on stability (Brickman and Campbell, in: Appley (ed) Adaptation level theory, Academic Press, New York, pp 287 - 302, 1971; Lykken and Tellegen in Psychol Sci 7:186 - 189, 1996). That theory is now regarded as inadequate by most researchers, given that national panel surveys in several Western countries show that substantial minorities of respondents have recorded large, long term changes in LS (Sheldon and Lucas in The stability of happiness, Elsevier, Amsterdam, 2014). In this paper we set out a preliminary revised theory, based mainly on analysis of the LS trajectories of the 2473 respondents in the German Socio-Economic Panel who reported their LS for 25 consecutive years in 1990 - 2014. The theory entails three sets of propositions in which we attempt to account for stability, change and also volatility. First, it is proposed that stability is primarily due to stable personality traits, and also to parental influence on LS. The second set of propositions indicates that medium and long term changes are due to differences and changes in personal values/life priorities and behavioural choices. Differences in the priority given to pro-social values, family values and materialistic values affect LS, as do behavioural choices relating to one's partner, physical exercise, social participation and networks, church attendance, and the balance between work and leisure. Medium term change is reinforced by two-way causation -- positive feedback loops -- between values, behavioural choices and LS. The third set of propositions breaks new ground in seeking to explain inter-individual differences in the volatility/variability of LS over time; why some individuals display high volatility and others low, even though their mean level of LS may change little over 25 years." (Author's abstract, © Springer-Verlag) ((en))

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Hetschko, Clemens, Benjamin Küfner & Gesine Stephan (2018): Arbeitslosigkeit und Wohlbefinden: Interdisziplinäre Tagung des IAB eröffnet neue Einblicke. In: IAB-Forum H. 16.03.2018, o. Sz., 2018-03-13.

Abstract

"Die Erforschung von mentaler Gesundheit und Glück oder - wissenschaftlich formuliert, von subjektivem Wohlbefinden - hat in der Arbeitsmarktforschung in den vergangenen Jahren stark an Bedeutung gewonnen. 44 Forscherinnen und Forscher aus dem In- und Ausland trafen sich am 25. und 26. Januar dieses Jahres in Nürnberg, um den Zusammenhang zwischen Arbeitslosigkeit und Wohlbefinden aus verschiedenen Perspektiven zu beleuchten." (Autorenreferat, IAB-Doku)

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Hoorn, André van (2018): Is the happiness approach to measuring preferences valid? In: Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Economics, Jg. 73, H. April, S. 53-65. DOI:10.1016/j.socec.2018.02.002

Abstract

"Estimating heterogeneous happiness or subjective well-being (SWB) functions and making inferences about differences in people's tastes or preferences has some interesting advantages over stated and revealed preferences methods and is growing in popularity. However, evidence on the validity of such SWB-based or 'inferred' preferences measures, meaning these measures' ability to capture what they are supposed to capture, is lacking, widespread evidence on the (construct) validity of SWB indicators themselves notwithstanding. Empirical analysis reveals that differences in preferences inferred from heterogeneity in estimated happiness functions map onto differences in self-reported behavior and attitudes in expected ways, suggesting that SWB-based measures of differences in preferences indeed capture the construct they are supposed to capture. Hence, the conclusion that the happiness approach provides a valid means for making inferences about differences in people's preferences." (Author's abstract, © 2018 Elsevier) ((en))

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Kaiser, Caspar (2018): People do not adapt to income changes. A re-evaluation of the dynamic effects of (reference) income on life satisfaction with GSOEP and UKHLS data. (INET Oxford working paper 2018-07), 46 S.

Abstract

"Do people adapt to changes in income? This paper shows that there is no evidence of adaptation to income in GSOEP (1984-2015) and UKHLS (1996-2015) data. Following the empirical approach of Vendrik (2013), I arrive at this surprising answer by estimating (dynamic) life satisfaction equations, in which I simultaneously enter contemporaneous and lagged terms for a respondent’s own household income and their estimated reference income. Additionally, I instrument for own income and include lags of a large set of controls. Furthermore, I find that people also do not adapt to changes in reference income. Instead, reference income effects may be subject to reinforcement over time. To explain my findings, a comprehensive account of the puzzling and often divergent results of Ferrer-i-Carbonell and Van Praag (2008), Binder and Coad (2010), Di Tella et al. (2010), and Pfaff (2013) is given. What was found to be adaptation to raw household income in these studies turns out to have been driven by reinforcement of an initially small negative effect of household size that grows large over time. Implications of this result for the estimation of equivalence scales with subjective data are discussed." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Lerch, Nils (2018): The causal analysis of the development of the unemployment effect on life satisfaction. (SOEPpapers on multidisciplinary panel data research at DIW Berlin 991), Berlin, 51 S.

Abstract

"The long-term negative effects of unemployment, especially on subjective well-being, have been indicated by many studies. Therefore, unemployment and its effects on the individual life course must remain an important challenge for social policy. Many studies have focused on the cognitive component of subjective well-being, i.e., life satisfaction, and have analysed in particular its development during the unemployment period. The trajectory is usually characterized by the effects of anticipation, reaction and adaption. Studies have shown different findings regarding the shape of the effect development. The present study discusses the effect development in greater detail and analyses whether the development of the effect is different depending on unemployment experience using longitudinal data from the German Socio-Economic Panel (SOEP) and applying fixed effects regressions. The findings of this study support a non-linear effect development, which begins with the anticipation of unemployment. The trend can be described by a linear function and polynomials up to the fifth degree. The introduction of a model according to modern causal analysis and the interpretation of the dynamic development of the counterfactual outcomes are the secondary focuses of the study. A detailed discussion of causal assumptions and necessary control variables is needed to reveal the effect of unemployment on life satisfaction. The SOEP provides information about employment status on a monthly basis. This study shows possibilities for using this information for the construction of control groups and treatment groups and analyses with ideal episode patterns." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Merz, Joachim (2018): Are retirees more satisfied? Anticipation and adaptation effects of retirement on subjective well-being. A panel analysis for Germany. (SOEPpapers on multidisciplinary panel data research at DIW Berlin 986), Berlin, 37 S.

Abstract

"Lebensqualität und Lebenszufriedenheit ist für den Einzelnen wie aber auch für die Gesellschaft insgesamt vor dem Hintergrund des demographischen Wandels mit nun länger andauernder Phase nach dem Eintritt in den Ruhestand von besonderer Bedeutung. Die vorliegende Studie will zur Diskussion der Lebenszufriedenheit einen empirisch fundierten Beitrag leisten insbesondere die Lebenszufriedenheit vor und nach einem markanten Ereignis, dem Renteneintritt, quantifizieren und dafür Erklärungsmuster finden. Vor allem wird mit den individuellen Verlaufsdaten und 33 Wellen des Sozio-ökonomischen Panels (SOEP) und der mikroökonometrischen kausalen fixed effects robusten Panelanalyse analysiert, ob die individuelle Lebenszufriedenheit tatsächlich vor dem Renteneintritt absinkt, der Renteneintritt sie hochschnellen lässt und sie nach einer gewissen Zeit wieder auf das vorherige Niveau der Lebenszufriedenheit absinkt. Zu klären wird also zu sein, ob sich ein solches Muster herausschält und wie bedeutend Antizipation und Adaption - bekannt von anderen markanten Ereignissen - für die Lebenszufriedenheit vor und nach dem Renteneintritt in Deutschland sind. Hauptergebnis: Individuelle und familiäre Faktoren erhöhen die Lebenszufriedenheit nach dem Renteneintritt für viele Jahre. Allerdings absorbiert die (vormalige) Arbeitssituation diesen Effekt sowohl für GRV Rentner als auch für Pensionäre (Beamte). Es verbleibt nur eine Periode der Verbesserung mit Antizipation und Adaption nahe dem Renteneintritt aber keine signifikante längere Änderung im Vergleich zur Lebenszufriedenheit vor dem Renteneintritt. Dies gilt für GRV Rentner, für Pensionäre wird kein signifikanter Effekt überhaupt feststellbar." (Autorenreferat, IAB-Doku)

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Mousteri, Victoria & Liam Delaney (2018): The scarring effect of unemployment on psychological well-being across Europe. In: Social science research, Jg. 72, H. May, S. 146-169. DOI:10.1016/j.ssresearch.2018.01.007

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Roex, Karlijn L. A. & Jesper J. Rözer (2018): The social norm to work and the well-being of the short- and long-term unemployed. In: Social indicators research, Jg. 139, H. 3, S. 1037-1064. DOI:10.1007/s11205-017-1723-0

Abstract

"Why are the unemployed particularly unhappy in some societies? According to the social norm theory of unemployment, the well-being of the non-employed is lower in countries with a strong social norm to work because of the greater stigma attached to unemployment. In this study, a social norm to work has been defined as the extent to which people expect others to work: do people think the unemployed should take any job they are offered, or should they have a right to refuse? The combined world and European values study and the European social survey were used to test the theory. Multilevel analyses show that - net of one's own norm and other measures of the social norm to work, such as one's personal work ethic - the well-being of unemployed men is lower in countries with a strong social norm to work, in particular that of the long-term unemployed. Overall, it appears that the social norm to work still weighs more heavily upon men than women." (Author's abstract, © Springer-Verlag) ((en))

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Song, Younghwan (2018): Job displacement and subjective well-being: Findings from the American Time Use Survey Well-Being Modules. In: Journal for labour market research, Jg. 52, H. 1, S. 1-13. DOI:10.1186/s12651-018-0249-5

Abstract

"Using matched cross-sectional data drawn from the 2010 and 2012 Displaced Workers Supplements of the Current Population Surveys and the 2010, 2012, and 2013 American Time Use Survey Well-Being Modules, this paper examines the relationship between job displacement and various measures of subjective well-being by sex. Displaced men report lower levels of life evaluation than nondisplaced men due to the differences in employment, marital status and income, whereas displaced women report lower levels of net affect and happiness and increased pain, sadness, and stress than nondisplaced women, but no difference in their life evaluation. Among men, those displaced by layoffs, not by plant closings, express lower levels of life evaluation than those not displaced, but there is no such difference by cause of displacement among women. The negative relationship between job displacement and subjective well-being decreases over time for both men and women." (Author's abstract, © Springer-Verlag) ((en))

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Tammelin, Mia (Hrsg.) (2018): Family, work and well-being. Emergence of new issues. (SpringerBriefs in well-being and quality of life research), Cham: Springer London, 116 S. DOI:10.1007/978-3-319-76463-4

Abstract

"This book analyses the current state-of-the-art research on families, working hours and well-being in Europe, addressing both paid and non-paid work from a family perspective, and introducing emerging issues related to working hours and family life. Further, it discusses the implications of these issues for the well-being of individuals and families. Examining topics such as the division of paid and non-paid work within families, flexibility patterns, the 24/7 society, intensification of work, and the implication of mobile technology for work - family relations, it illustrates how the experiences of working families differ depending on their socio-economic status." (Publisher information, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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De Neve, Jan-Emmanuel & George Ward (2017): Happiness at work. (CEP discussion paper 1474), London, 72 S.

Abstract

"Happiness is typically defined by how people experience and evaluate their lives as a whole. Since the majority of people spend much of their lives at work, it is critically important to gain a solid understanding of the role that employment and the workplace play in shaping happiness for individuals and communities around the world. In this paper, we focus largely on the role of work and employment in shaping people's happiness, and investigate how employment status, job type, and workplace characteristics relate to measures of subjective wellbeing." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Hetschko, Clemens & Ronnie Schöb (2017): Modes of employment and identity. In: Die Unternehmung. Swiss Journal of Business Research and Practice, Jg. 71, H. 4, S. 369-389., 2017-10-09. DOI:10.5771/0042-059X-2017-4-368

Abstract

"In diesem Beitrag widmen wir uns dem Thema Arbeit aus Sicht der ökonomischen Wohlbefindensforschung. Wir dokumentieren anhand zahlreicher Studien, wie der Erwerbsstatus und das Arbeitsleben das subjektive Wohlbefinden beeinflussen. Im Gegensatz zur traditionellen Arbeitszufriedenheitsforschung basieren diese Studien zumeist auf umfassenden Längsschnittanalysen repräsentativer Daten und widmen sich Indikatoren des Wohlbefindens, die nicht spezifisch auf das Berufsleben abzielen. Im Ergebnis stellt sich heraus, dass insbesondere das Identitätsempfinden von Arbeitnehmern ein wichtiger Kanal ist, durch den Erwerbsstatus und Arbeitsplatzmerkmale das Wohlbefinden beeinflussen." (Autorenreferat, IAB-Doku)

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Melzer, Silvia Maja & Ruud J. Muffels (2017): Migrants' pursuit of happiness. An analysis of the effects of adaptation, social comparison and economic integration on subjective well-being on the basis of German panel data for 1990-2014. In: Migration studies, Jg. 5, H. 2, S. 190-215. DOI:10.1093/migration/mnx021

Abstract

"German reunification provides a unique opportunity to investigate the effects of migration on subjective well-being (SWB) on the basis of longitudinal pre- and post-migration data. Our main goal is to assess the effects of adaptation, social comparison and economic integration on the change in SWB associated with migration from eastern to western Germany after the German reunification of 1990. We expect that gains or losses in SWB after migration are influenced by how migrants adapt to their new economic conditions, with whom they compare themselves and how well they integrate economically (as indicated by their relative income position) into the new society. We estimate fixed-effects generalized least squares regressions using Socio-Economic Panel data for the period 1990 - 2014. The results indicate a positive and strong effect of migration on SWB, both for men and women, which results in part from the higher incomes migrants earn in the new society. In line with the Easterlin paradox, our results show that general income increases do not generate equivalent gains in SWB because of processes of adaptation and social comparison. For migrating men the increase in SWB is diminished significantly by a dissatisfaction resulting from comparing their income with that of their new peers in western Germany and that of their former peers in eastern Germany. The change in SWB of migrating women and men is much more dependent on social comparison than on economic integration." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Mueller, Swantje, Jenny Wagner, Gert G. Wagner, Nilam Ram & Denis Gerstorf (2017): How far reaches the power of personality? Personality predictors of terminal decline in well-being. (SOEPpapers on multidisciplinary panel data research at DIW Berlin 944), Berlin, 56 S.

Abstract

"Personality is a powerful predictor of central life outcomes, including subjective well-being. Yet, we still know little about how personality manifests in the very last years of life when well-being typically falls rapidly. Here, we investigate whether the Big Five personality traits buffer (or magnify) terminal decline in well-being beyond and in interaction with functioning in key physical and social domains. We applied growth models to up to 10-year longitudinal data from 629 now deceased participants in the nation-wide German Socio-Economic Panel Study (SOEP; age at death: M = 76 years; SD = 11). Lower neuroticism and higher conscientiousness were each uniquely associated with higher late-life well-being one year prior to death. At the same time, participants low in neuroticism experienced steeper terminal well-being declines. Similarly, individuals high in agreeableness and women high in extraversion reported higher well-being far away from death, but experienced more severe terminal decline, such that personality-related differences in well-being were not discernible anymore at one year prior to death. Interaction effects further revealed that individuals suffering from disability benefit less from higher levels of conscientiousness, while openness to experience appeared particularly beneficial for the less educated. We conclude that in the context of often severe late-life health challenges that accompany the last years of life, adaptive personality-related differences continue to be evident and sizeable for some traits, but appear to diminish and even reverse in direction for other traits. We discuss possible underlying mechanisms and practical implications." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Schöb, Ronnie (2017): Ungleichheit und Zufriedenheit. Anmerkungen zur Ungleichheitsdebatte. In: Ifo Dresden berichtet, Jg. 24, H. 4, S. 32-35.

Abstract

"Befragungen zur Lebenszufriedenheit in Deutschland zeigen einen deutlichen Anstieg der Zufriedenheit in den Jahren 2005 bis 2015. In der gegenwärtigen politischen Diskussion wird dagegen häufig ein Bild gezeichnet, wonach sich immer mehr Menschen abgehängt fühlen und zunehmend Sorgen um die Zukunft machen. Blickt man aber auf die Entwicklung der subjektiven Lebenszufriedenheit in den unterschiedlichen Einkommensgruppen, zeigt sich, dass die Schere zwischen Unzufriedenen und Zufriedenen nicht etwa aufgegangen ist, sondern sich sogar etwas geschlossen hat. Der vorliegende Beitrag ergründet mögliche Ursachen dieser gegensätzlichen Wahrnehmung." (Autorenreferat, IAB-Doku)

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Yasar, Rusen (2017): Subjective well-being and income: a compromise between Easterlin paradox and its critiques. (Economics. Discussion papers 2017-113), Kiel, 25 S.

Abstract

"Despite rising popularity of subjective well-being (SWB) as a proxy for utility, its relationship with income is still unresolved. Against the background of debates around the 'Easterlin paradox', this paper seeks a compromise between two positions: one that insists on individual relative income, and one that finds similarity between individual and aggregate levels. Proposing a model which puts the emphasis on the interaction between individual and aggregate-level factors, it argues that the effect of relative income on SWB varies across countries as a function of average income, in addition to a relatively small direct effect of the latter, in partial agreement with the two major positions. The model is tested cross-sectionally on the data from the latest wave of World Values Survey. The results from hierarchical mixed-effect models confirm the main argument. But further examination reveals that there is still unaccounted variation especially in middle-income economies." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))