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Unemployment and happiness

Author

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  • Rainer Winkelmann

    (University of Zurich, Switzerland, and IZA, Germany)

Abstract

Many studies document a large negative effect of unemployment on happiness. Recent research has looked into factors related to impacts on happiness, such as adaptation, social work norms, social capital, religious beliefs, and psychological resources. Getting unemployed people back to work can do more for their happiness than compensating them for doing nothing. But not all unemployed people are equally unhappy. Understanding the differences holds the key to designing effective policies, for helping the unemployed back into work, and for more evenly distributing the burden of unemployment resulting from economic restructuring.

Suggested Citation

  • Rainer Winkelmann, 2014. "Unemployment and happiness," IZA World of Labor, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA), pages 1-94, October.
    • Handle: RePEc:iza:izawol:journl:y:2014:n:94
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
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    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Antonio Di Paolo & Ada Ferrer‐i‐Carbonell, 2022. "Regional borders, local unemployment, and life satisfaction," Journal of Regional Science, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 62(2), pages 412-442, March.
    2. Martijn Burger & Martijn Hendriks & Elena Ianchovichina, 2022. "Happy but Unequal: Differences in Subjective Well-Being across Individuals and Space in Colombia," Applied Research in Quality of Life, Springer;International Society for Quality-of-Life Studies, vol. 17(3), pages 1343-1387, June.
    3. Howley, P. & Knight, S., 2016. "The externality cost of neighbour’s at work: Social norm induced effects on well-being," Health, Econometrics and Data Group (HEDG) Working Papers 16/34, HEDG, c/o Department of Economics, University of York.
    4. Jensen, Søren & Pedersen, Peder J., 2020. "Satisfaction with Life, Happiness, and Inequality – a Pseudo-Panel Study," IZA Discussion Papers 12972, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    5. Lídia Farré & Francesco Fasani & Hannes Mueller, 2018. "Feeling useless: the effect of unemployment on mental health in the Great Recession," IZA Journal of Labor Economics, Springer;Forschungsinstitut zur Zukunft der Arbeit GmbH (IZA), vol. 7(1), pages 1-34, December.
    6. Hansen, Kerstin F. & Stutzer, Alois, 2022. "Parental unemployment, social insurance and child well-being across countries," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 204(C), pages 600-617.
    7. Jianbo Jeff Luo, 2022. "Is Work a Burden? The Role of the Living Standard," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 163(1), pages 61-77, August.
    8. 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.
    9. Reichert, Arndt R. & Tauchmann, Harald, 2017. "Workforce reduction, subjective job insecurity, and mental health," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 133(C), pages 187-212.
    10. Nikolova, Milena & Nikolaev, Boris N., 2021. "Family matters: The effects of parental unemployment in early childhood and adolescence on subjective well-being later in life," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 181(C), pages 312-331.
    11. Zeynep B. UGUR, 2023. "Do People Adapt to Unemployment? Findings from Türkiye," Istanbul Journal of Economics-Istanbul Iktisat Dergisi, Istanbul University, Faculty of Economics, vol. 73(73-2), pages 781-810, December.
    12. Jianbo Luo, 2020. "A Pecuniary Explanation for the Heterogeneous Effects of Unemployment on Happiness," Journal of Happiness Studies, Springer, vol. 21(7), pages 2603-2628, October.
    13. Nguyen, Ha Trong & Mitrou, Francis & Taylor, Catherine L. & Zubrick, Stephen R., 2020. "Does retirement lead to life satisfaction? Causal evidence from fixed effect instrumental variable models," GLO Discussion Paper Series 536, Global Labor Organization (GLO).
    14. Nikolova, Milena, 2018. "Self-Employment Can Be Good for Your Health," GLO Discussion Paper Series 226, Global Labor Organization (GLO).
    15. Benjamin Austin & Edward Glaeser & Lawrence Summers, 2018. "Jobs for the Heartland: Place-Based Policies in 21st-Century America," Brookings Papers on Economic Activity, Economic Studies Program, The Brookings Institution, vol. 49(1 (Spring), pages 151-255.
    16. Bianca Mitrică & Irena Mocanu & Monica Dumitraşcu & Ines Grigorescu, 2017. "Socio-Economic Disparities in the Development of the Romania’s Border Areas," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 134(3), pages 899-916, December.
    17. Hung‐Lin Tao, 2022. "Unemployment only temporarily lowers happiness in an eastern society," Review of Development Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 26(3), pages 1713-1732, August.
    18. Baskaran, Thushyanthan & Lopes da Fonseca, Mariana, 2021. "Appointed public officials and local favoritism: Evidence from the German states," Journal of Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 124(C).
    19. Stephen Roll & Olga Kondratjeva & Sam Bufe & Michal Grinstein-Weiss & Stephanie Skees, 2022. "Assessing the Short-Term Stability of Financial Well-Being in Low- and Moderate-Income Households," Journal of Family and Economic Issues, Springer, vol. 43(1), pages 100-127, March.
    20. Nikolova, Milena, 2019. "Switching to self-employment can be good for your health," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 34(4), pages 664-691.
    21. Suppa, Nicolai, 2021. "Unemployment and subjective well-being," GLO Discussion Paper Series 760, Global Labor Organization (GLO).
    22. Sam Bufe & Stephen Roll & Olga Kondratjeva & Stephanie Skees & Michal Grinstein-Weiss, 2022. "Financial Shocks and Financial Well-Being: What Builds Resiliency in Lower-Income Households?," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 161(1), pages 379-407, May.
    23. Burger,Martijn & Hendriks,Martijn & Ianchovichina,Elena, 2022. "Anatomy of Brazil’s Subjective Well-Being : A Tale of Growing Discontent and Polarization in the 2010s," Policy Research Working Paper Series 9924, The World Bank.
    24. Arjen Schepen & Martijn J. Burger, 2022. "Professional Financial Advice and Subjective Well-Being," Applied Research in Quality of Life, Springer;International Society for Quality-of-Life Studies, vol. 17(5), pages 2967-3004, October.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    unemployment; happiness; social capital; social norms; psychological scarcity;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • I31 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Welfare, Well-Being, and Poverty - - - General Welfare, Well-Being
    • I38 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Welfare, Well-Being, and Poverty - - - Government Programs; Provision and Effects of Welfare Programs
    • J01 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - General - - - Labor Economics: General
    • J65 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Mobility, Unemployment, Vacancies, and Immigrant Workers - - - Unemployment Insurance; Severance Pay; Plant Closings

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