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Can Governments Boost People's Sense of Well-Being? The Impact of Selected Labour Market and Health Policies on Life Satisfaction

Author

Listed:
  • Romina Boarini
  • Margherita Comola

  • Femke Keulenaer
  • Robert Manchin
  • Conal Smith

Abstract

There is strong evidence that subjective well-being measures capture in a reliable way specific components of well-being that other non-subjective measures miss. The question of whether subjective well-being is policy amenable is however still largely unexplored in the research. This paper sheds some light on this issue, by looking at the impact of selected labour market and health policies on subjective well-being, using well-being data from the Gallup World Poll on the 34 OECD countries. The paper finds that the generosity of unemployment benefits and the strictness employment protection legislation affects positively life satisfaction, while out-of-pocket health expenses significantly reduce subjective well-being.

Suggested Citation

  • Romina Boarini & Margherita Comola & Femke Keulenaer & Robert Manchin & Conal Smith, 2013. "Can Governments Boost People's Sense of Well-Being? The Impact of Selected Labour Market and Health Policies on Life Satisfaction," PSE-Ecole d'économie de Paris (Postprint) hal-00972050, HAL.
    • Handle: RePEc:hal:pseptp:hal-00972050
    DOI: 10.1007/s11205-013-0386-8
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    Cited by:

    1. Graafland, Johan, 2023. "Economic freedom and life satisfaction: A moderated mediation model with individual autonomy and national culture," European Journal of Political Economy, Elsevier, vol. 79(C).
    2. Sarracino, Francesco & O'Connor, Kelsey J. & Ono, Hiroshi, 2019. "Making economic growth and well-being compatible: evidence from Japan," MPRA Paper 93010, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    3. Dräger, Vanessa, 2015. "Do Employment Protection Reforms Affect Well-Being?," IZA Discussion Papers 9114, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    4. Robson Morgan & Kelsey J. O’Connor, 2022. "Labor Market Policy and Subjective Well-Being During the Great Recession," Journal of Happiness Studies, Springer, vol. 23(2), pages 391-422, February.
    5. Jonas Voßemer & Michael Gebel & Kadri Täht & Marge Unt & Björn Högberg & Mattias Strandh, 2018. "The Effects of Unemployment and Insecure Jobs on Well-Being and Health: The Moderating Role of Labor Market Policies," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 138(3), pages 1229-1257, August.
    6. Francesco Sarracino & Kelsey J. O’Connor, 2021. "Economic growth and well-being beyond the Easterlin paradox," Chapters, in: Luigino Bruni & Alessandra Smerilli & Dalila De Rosa (ed.), A Modern Guide to the Economics of Happiness, chapter 9, pages 162-188, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    7. 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.
    8. 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.
    9. Lisa Marie Natter, 2025. "The Shadow of the Financial Crisis: Socio-Economic and Welfare Policy Development and Fear of Crime in Europe. A Random Effects Within-Between Model Analysis of the European Social Survey, 2002–2018," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 176(2), pages 473-498, January.

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