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Individual Well-Being and the Allocation of Time Before and After the Boston Marathon Terrorist Bombing

Author

Listed:
  • Clark, Andrew E.

    (Paris School of Economics)

  • Stancanelli, Elena G. F.

    (Paris School of Economics)

Abstract

There is a small literature on the economic costs of terrorism. We consider the effects of the Boston marathon bombing on Americans' well-being and time allocation. We exploit data from the American Time Use Survey and Well-Being Module in the days around the terrorist attack to implement a regression-discontinuity design. The bombing led to a significant and large drop of about 1.5 points in well-being, on a scale of one to six, for residents of the States close to Boston. The happiness of American women also dropped significantly, by almost a point, regardless of the State of residence. Labor supply and other time use were not significantly affected. We find no well-being effect of the Sandy Hook shootings, suggesting that terrorism is different in nature from other violent deaths.

Suggested Citation

  • Clark, Andrew E. & Stancanelli, Elena G. F., 2016. "Individual Well-Being and the Allocation of Time Before and After the Boston Marathon Terrorist Bombing," IZA Discussion Papers 9882, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    • Handle: RePEc:iza:izadps:dp9882
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    1. Individual Well-Being and the Allocation of Time Before and After the Boston Marathon Terrorist Bombing
      by maximorossi in NEP-LTV blog on 2017-03-22 23:19:34

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    well-being; time use; Terrorism;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • I31 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Welfare, Well-Being, and Poverty - - - General Welfare, Well-Being
    • J21 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Labor Force and Employment, Size, and Structure
    • J22 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Time Allocation and Labor Supply
    • F52 - International Economics - - International Relations, National Security, and International Political Economy - - - National Security; Economic Nationalism

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