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Does a Better Job Match Make Women Happier?: Work Orientations, Work-Care Choices and Subjective Well-Being in Germany

Author

Listed:
  • Ruud Muffels
  • Bauke Kemperman

Abstract

The study examines the effects of work orientations and work-leisure choices alongside the effect of genes or personality traits on subjective well-being (SWB). The former effects are assumed to be mediated by the match between women's preferred and actual number of working hours indicating labor market and time constraints. Data come from 24 waves of the German (SOEP) Household Panel (1984-2007). Random and fixed-effect panel regression models are estimated. Work orientations and work-leisure choices indeed matter for women's SWB but the effects are strongly mediated by the job match especially for younger birth cohorts and higher educated women. Therefore, apart from the impact of genes or personality traits preferences and choices as well as labor market and time constraints matter significantly for the well-being of women, providing partial support to the role (scarcity-expansion) theory and the combination pressure thesis while at the same time challenging set-point theory.

Suggested Citation

  • Ruud Muffels & Bauke Kemperman, 2011. "Does a Better Job Match Make Women Happier?: Work Orientations, Work-Care Choices and Subjective Well-Being in Germany," SOEPpapers on Multidisciplinary Panel Data Research 361, DIW Berlin, The German Socio-Economic Panel (SOEP).
    • Handle: RePEc:diw:diwsop:diw_sp361
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    File URL: https://www.diw.de/documents/publikationen/73/diw_01.c.368776.de/diw_sp0361.pdf
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Paul Frijters & John P. Haisken-DeNew & Michael A. Shields, 2004. "Money Does Matter! Evidence from Increasing Real Income and Life Satisfaction in East Germany Following Reunification," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 94(3), pages 730-740, June.
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    Cited by:

    1. Ruud Muffels & Bruce Headey, 2013. "Capabilities and Choices: Do They Make Sen’se for Understanding Objective and Subjective Well-Being? An Empirical Test of Sen’s Capability Framework on German and British Panel Data," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 110(3), pages 1159-1185, February.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Subjective well-being; set-point theory; life satisfaction; preference formation theory; role (scarcity-expansion) theory; job match; work-leisure choices; panel regression models;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • I32 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Welfare, Well-Being, and Poverty - - - Measurement and Analysis of Poverty
    • J21 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Labor Force and Employment, Size, and Structure
    • J24 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Human Capital; Skills; Occupational Choice; Labor Productivity
    • J64 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Mobility, Unemployment, Vacancies, and Immigrant Workers - - - Unemployment: Models, Duration, Incidence, and Job Search

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