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Perception and retrospection: the dynamic consistency of responses to survey questions on wellbeing

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  • Pudney, Stephen

Abstract

Implementation of broad approaches to welfare analysis usually entails the use of 'subjective' welfare indicators. We analyse BHPS data on financial wellbeing to determine whether reported current and retrospective perceptions are consistent with each other and with the existence of a common underlying wellbeing concept. We allow for adjustment of perceptions in a vector ARMA model for panel data, with dependent variables observed ordinally and find that current perceptions exhibit slow adjustment to changing circumstances and retrospective assessments of past wellbeing are heavily contaminated by current circumstances, causing significant bias in measures of the level and change in welfare.

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  • Pudney, Stephen, 2010. "Perception and retrospection: the dynamic consistency of responses to survey questions on wellbeing," ISER Working Paper Series 2010-07, Institute for Social and Economic Research.
    • Handle: RePEc:ese:iserwp:2010-07
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    Cited by:

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    2. Tomasz Potocki & Sylwester Białowąs, 2023. "What Factors Predict a Positive Change in a Consumer’s Financial Capability over Time? The New Evidence from Poland," Journal of Family and Economic Issues, Springer, vol. 44(3), pages 634-654, September.
    3. Nurul Shahnaz Mahdzan & Rozaimah Zainudin & Mohd Edil Abd. Sukor & Fauzi Zainir & Wan Marhaini Wan Ahmad, 2019. "Determinants of Subjective Financial Well-Being Across Three Different Household Income Groups in Malaysia," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 146(3), pages 699-726, December.
    4. Schmied, Julian, 2023. "The replacement rate that maintains income satisfaction through retirement: The question of income-dependence," The Journal of the Economics of Ageing, Elsevier, vol. 26(C).
    5. Georgios Marios & María Dolores, 2024. "Identifying the economic determinants of individual voting behaviour in UK general elections," Oxford Economic Papers, Oxford University Press, vol. 76(1), pages 267-289.
    6. Orcun Kaya, 2014. "Is perceived financial inadequacy persistent?," Review of Income and Wealth, International Association for Research in Income and Wealth, vol. 60(4), pages 636-654, December.
    7. Anita Ratcliffe, 2015. "Wealth Effects, Local Area Attributes, and Economic Prospects: On the Relationship between House Prices and Mental Wellbeing," Review of Income and Wealth, International Association for Research in Income and Wealth, vol. 61(1), pages 75-92, March.
    8. Adrian Chadi, 2019. "Dissatisfied with life or with being interviewed? Happiness and the motivation to participate in a survey," Social Choice and Welfare, Springer;The Society for Social Choice and Welfare, vol. 53(3), pages 519-553, October.
    9. R. Bollinger, Christopher & Nicoletti, Cheti & Pudney, Stephen, 2012. "Two can live as cheaply as one… but three’s a crowd," ISER Working Paper Series 2012-10, Institute for Social and Economic Research.
    10. Christopher R. Bollinger & Cheti Nicoletti & Stephen Pudney, 2012. "Two can live as cheaply as one... But three's a crowd," Discussion Papers 12/23, Department of Economics, University of York.
    11. Anna Maffioletti, Agata Maida, Francesco Scacciati, 2019. "Happiness, life satisfaction, well-being: survey design and response analysis," European Journal of Comparative Economics, Cattaneo University (LIUC), vol. 16(2), pages 277-312, December.
    12. Rui Xue & Adrian Gepp & Terry J. O'Neill & Steven Stern & Bruce J. Vanstone, 2020. "Financial well‐being amongst elderly Australians: the role of consumption patterns and financial literacy," Accounting and Finance, Accounting and Finance Association of Australia and New Zealand, vol. 60(4), pages 4361-4386, December.
    13. Begoña Álvarez, 2022. "The Best Years of Older Europeans’ Lives," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 160(1), pages 227-260, February.
    14. Pudney, Stephen & Booker, Cara, 2013. "In sickness and in health? Comorbidity in older couples," ISER Working Paper Series 2013-30, Institute for Social and Economic Research.
    15. Anita Ratcliffe & Karl Taylor, 2013. "Who Cares about Stock Market Booms and Busts? Evidence from Data on Mental Wellbeing," Working Papers 2012021, The University of Sheffield, Department of Economics.
    16. Hernandez-Alava, Monica & Pudney, Stephen, 2015. "BICOP: a Stata command for fitting bivariate ordinal regressions with residual dependence characterised by a copula function and normal mixture marginals," Understanding Society Working Paper Series 2015-02, Understanding Society at the Institute for Social and Economic Research.
    17. Luisa Corrado & Majlinda Joxhe, 2016. "The Effect of Survey Design on Extreme Response Style: Rating Job Satisfaction," CEIS Research Paper 365, Tor Vergata University, CEIS, revised 08 Feb 2016.
    18. Stephen J Aguilar & Clare Baek, 2020. "Sexual harassment in academe is underreported, especially by students in the life and physical sciences," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 15(3), pages 1-18, March.

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    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • C23 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Single Equation Models; Single Variables - - - Models with Panel Data; Spatio-temporal Models
    • C25 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Single Equation Models; Single Variables - - - Discrete Regression and Qualitative Choice Models; Discrete Regressors; Proportions; Probabilities
    • C33 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Multiple or Simultaneous Equation Models; Multiple Variables - - - Models with Panel Data; Spatio-temporal Models
    • C35 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Multiple or Simultaneous Equation Models; Multiple Variables - - - Discrete Regression and Qualitative Choice Models; Discrete Regressors; Proportions
    • D84 - Microeconomics - - Information, Knowledge, and Uncertainty - - - Expectations; Speculations

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