IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/spr/soinre/v162y2022i3d10.1007_s11205-022-02892-y.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Unemployment and Well-Being of Europeans Across the Life Cycle: The Role of Countries’ Macroeconomic Situation

Author

Listed:
  • Gintare Malisauskaite

    (University of Kent)

  • Olena Nizalova

    (University of Kent
    University of Kent
    University of Kent)

  • Despoina Xanthopoulou

    (Aristotle University of Thessaloniki)

Abstract

Unemployment impairs individuals’ well-being and health and there is some empirical evidence showing that macroeconomic conditions can moderate these effects. This paper goes a step further and investigates differences in how macroeconomic indicators of European countries’ economic situation relate to individual subjective health and well-being, and also moderate the relationship between individual labour market exclusion and these outcomes across age groups: young individuals (aged 15–29), prime working age adults (aged 30–49, base category) and pre-retirement age adults (aged 50–64). We used two different macroeconomic indicators to define macroeconomic situation: country-level unemployment rate and gross domestic product (GDP). Both indicators were disaggregated into long-term economic trend and business cycle shocks using Hodrick–Prescott filtering to allow distinguishing between expected and unexpected change in macroeconomic circumstances. We used the European Social Survey individual-level data from 35 European countries for 2002–2014. Multi-level analysis with three levels were run for men and women separately. Results revealed differences in how individual-level unemployment related to well-being depending on the age group, with pre-retirement age group adults’ health and well-being suffering the most. Also, macroeconomic indicators were found to moderate the relationship between individual-level unemployment and subjective health and well-being with some noticeable differences between age groups, and with GDP trend having the most sizeable influence.

Suggested Citation

  • Gintare Malisauskaite & Olena Nizalova & Despoina Xanthopoulou, 2022. "Unemployment and Well-Being of Europeans Across the Life Cycle: The Role of Countries’ Macroeconomic Situation," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 162(3), pages 1387-1412, August.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:soinre:v:162:y:2022:i:3:d:10.1007_s11205-022-02892-y
    DOI: 10.1007/s11205-022-02892-y
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://link.springer.com/10.1007/s11205-022-02892-y
    File Function: Abstract
    Download Restriction: Access to the full text of the articles in this series is restricted.
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1007/s11205-022-02892-y?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Jorge Guardiola & Monica Guillen-Royo, 2015. "Income, Unemployment, Higher Education and Wellbeing in Times of Economic Crisis: Evidence from Granada (Spain)," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 120(2), pages 395-409, January.
    2. Artazcoz, L. & Benach, J. & Borrell, C. & Cortès, I., 2004. "Unemployment and Mental Health: Understanding the Interactions among Gender, Family Roles, and Social Class," American Journal of Public Health, American Public Health Association, vol. 94(1), pages 82-88.
    3. David Card & Jochen Kluve & Andrea Weber, 2018. "What Works? A Meta Analysis of Recent Active Labor Market Program Evaluations," Journal of the European Economic Association, European Economic Association, vol. 16(3), pages 894-931.
    4. Giuliano Bonoli, 2014. "Networking the unemployed: Can policy interventions facilitate access to employment through informal channels?," International Social Security Review, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 67(2), pages 85-106, April.
    5. Clark, Andrew & Knabe, Andreas & Rätzel, Steffen, 2010. "Boon or bane? Others' unemployment, well-being and job insecurity," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 17(1), pages 52-61, January.
    6. Nizalova Olena Y. & Murtazashvili Irina, 2016. "Exogenous Treatment and Endogenous Factors: Vanishing of Omitted Variable Bias on the Interaction Term," Journal of Econometric Methods, De Gruyter, vol. 5(1), pages 71-77, January.
    7. Jan Eichhorn, 2013. "Unemployment Needs Context: How Societal Differences between Countries Moderate the Loss in Life-Satisfaction for the Unemployed," Journal of Happiness Studies, Springer, vol. 14(6), pages 1657-1680, December.
    8. Kadri Taht & Despoina Xanthopoulou & Lia Figgou & Marialena Kostouli & Marge Unt, 2020. "The Role of Unemployment and Job Insecurity for the Well-Being of Young Europeans: Social Inequality as a Macro-Level Moderator," Journal of Happiness Studies, Springer, vol. 21(7), pages 2355-2375, October.
    9. Nattavudh Powdthavee, 2007. "Are there Geographical Variations in the Psychological Cost of Unemployment in South Africa?," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 80(3), pages 629-652, February.
    10. Jean-Pierre Neveu & Stevan E. Hobfoll & Jonathon Halbesleben & M Westman, 2018. "Conservation of resources in the organizational context : the reality of resources and their consequences," Post-Print hal-02472360, HAL.
    11. Christian E. Weller & Jeffrey B. Wenger, 2019. "Divergent fortunes: growing wealth inequality and widening entrepreneurship by age," Review of Social Economy, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 77(3), pages 326-360, July.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Picchio, Matteo & Ubaldi, Michele, 2022. "Unemployment and Health: A Meta-Analysis," GLO Discussion Paper Series 1128, Global Labor Organization (GLO).
    2. Wen-Hao Chen & Feng Hou, 2019. "The Effect of Unemployment on Life Satisfaction: A Cross-National Comparison Between Canada, Germany, the United Kingdom and the United States," Applied Research in Quality of Life, Springer;International Society for Quality-of-Life Studies, vol. 14(4), pages 1035-1058, September.
    3. Fluhrer, Svenja & Kraehnert, Kati, 2022. "Sitting in the same boat: Subjective well-being and social comparison after an extreme weather event," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 195(C).
    4. Thomas Barnay, 2016. "Health, work and working conditions: a review of the European economic literature," The European Journal of Health Economics, Springer;Deutsche Gesellschaft für Gesundheitsökonomie (DGGÖ), vol. 17(6), pages 693-709, July.
    5. Milena Nikolova & Sinem H. Ayhan, 2019. "Your spouse is fired! How much do you care?," Journal of Population Economics, Springer;European Society for Population Economics, vol. 32(3), pages 799-844, July.
    6. Pohlan, Laura, 2019. "Unemployment and social exclusion," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 164(C), pages 273-299.
    7. Clemens Hetschko & Andreas Knabe & Ronnie Schöb, 2014. "Changing Identity: Retiring From Unemployment," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 124(575), pages 149-166, March.
    8. Coen van de Kraats & Titus Galama & Maarten Lindeboom, 2022. "Why life gets better after age 50, for some: mental well-being and the social norm of work," Tinbergen Institute Discussion Papers 22-081/V, Tinbergen Institute.
    9. Adrian Chadi, 2014. "Regional unemployment and norm-induced effects on life satisfaction," Empirical Economics, Springer, vol. 46(3), pages 1111-1141, May.
    10. Dominik Buttler, 2022. "Employment Status and Well-Being Among Young Individuals. Why Do We Observe Cross-Country Differences?," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 164(1), pages 409-437, November.
    11. Ronnie Schöb, 2013. "Unemployment and Identity," CESifo Economic Studies, CESifo Group, vol. 59(1), pages 149-180, March.
    12. Hetschko, Clemens & Knabe, Andreas & Schöb, Ronnie, 2021. "Happiness, Work, and Identity," GLO Discussion Paper Series 783, Global Labor Organization (GLO).
    13. Wen Fan & Yue Qian, 2023. "State Contexts, Job Insecurity, and Subjective Well-being in the Time of COVID-19," Journal of Happiness Studies, Springer, vol. 24(6), pages 2039-2059, August.
    14. Howley, P.; & Knight, S.;, 2018. "Taking pleasure from neighbours’ misfortune: Comparison effects, social norms and the well-being of the unemployed," Health, Econometrics and Data Group (HEDG) Working Papers 18/02, HEDG, c/o Department of Economics, University of York.
    15. Suppa, Nicolai, 2021. "Unemployment and subjective well-being," GLO Discussion Paper Series 760, Global Labor Organization (GLO).
    16. N. N., 2017. "WIFO-Monatsberichte, Heft 6/2017," WIFO Monatsberichte (monthly reports), WIFO, vol. 90(6), June.
    17. Jos� Ignacio Gimenez-Nadal & Jos� Alberto Molina & Raquel Ortega, 2010. "Unemployment and Time Use: Evidence from the Spanish Time Use Survey," Documentos de Trabajo dt2010-02, Facultad de Ciencias Económicas y Empresariales, Universidad de Zaragoza.
    18. Green, Francis, 2011. "Unpacking the misery multiplier: How employability modifies the impacts of unemployment and job insecurity on life satisfaction and mental health," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 30(2), pages 265-276, March.
    19. Z. Bilgen Susanlı, 2018. "Life satisfaction and unemployment in Turkey: evidence from Life Satisfaction Surveys 2004–2013," Quality & Quantity: International Journal of Methodology, Springer, vol. 52(1), pages 479-499, January.
    20. Cristina Borra & Francisco Gómez-García, 2016. "Wellbeing at Work and the Great Recession: The Effect of Others’ Unemployment," Journal of Happiness Studies, Springer, vol. 17(5), pages 1939-1962, October.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:spr:soinre:v:162:y:2022:i:3:d:10.1007_s11205-022-02892-y. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Sonal Shukla or Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.springer.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.