Self-Reported Satisfaction and the Economic Crisis of 2007-10: Or How People in the UK and Germany Perceive a Severe Cyclical Downturn

Mertens, Antje; Beblo, Miriam

doi:10.2139/ssrn.2317091

Cited by 3 publications

(3 citation statements)

References 111 publications

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“…Clark (2003) shows that the well-being of the unemployed rose with regional unemployment in the United Kingdom. Similarly, German men report lower levels of life satisfaction on average if regional unemployment is high but unemployed men are less affected (Mertens and Beblo 2011). That is, as unemployment becomes more common, unemployed people become less distressed, and unemployment hurts less in countries more tolerant towards being out of work.…”

Section: The Influence Of Inflation Unemployment and Economic Growthmentioning

confidence: 99%

Does the macroeconomic context influence subjective well-being in Europe and Portugal? The puzzling case of the 2008 crisis

Lopes

Calapez

Porto

2014

Portuguese Journal of Social Science

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The happiness economics literature shows that, contrary to what happens in the long run, subjective well-being (SWB) and income evolve together in the short term. The aim of the present article is to examine whether this result holds in Europe, and in particular in Portugal, during the 2000s. The empirical study is based on the European Social Survey (ESS) micro-data, merged with Eurostat macroeconomic data (rate of change in gross domestic product (GDP), unemployment and inflation). Following the literature, our hypothesis is that self-reported well-being increases in expansionary periods and decreases in recessive ones. Results show that, while the association between well-being and macroeconomic fluctuations are as expected from 2002 to 2008, this is no longer the case when the 2010 data is included in the regression models. In fact, well-being increased in ten out of fifteen European countries after the 2008 crisis. Further examination of the Portuguese data shows that people of all age, education levels, health condition and employment status declared to be happier in 2010 when compared to 2008. Such a puzzling result may be explained by expectations and adaptation processes as well as by an increased awareness, possibly prompted by the crisis, that not only income but also social relationships count in life. Our results thus broadly confirm happiness economics findings: well-being is not exclusively linked with income.

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Section: The Influence Of Inflation Unemployment and Economic Growthmentioning

confidence: 99%

Does the macroeconomic context influence subjective well-being in Europe and Portugal? The puzzling case of the 2008 crisis

Lopes

Calapez

Porto

2014

Portuguese Journal of Social Science

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“…The impact of the 2008 Great Recession on (mental) health has been well documented 11 showing that men were more at risk of poor mental health during the crisis and that strong social security systems, particularly in Europe, may have mitigated the effect of Recession 12 . Other studies have shown that life satisfaction appears to be uncorrelated with GDP growth and the effect of the crisis on overall life satisfaction is small 13 . However, specific sub-populations were more at risk to be affected by the crisis with potential long-lasting effects on their mental health in post-recession times caused by housing, job-related and financial impacts 14 .…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 90%

Examining the relationships between psychological distress and financial hardship and uncertainty during the COVID-19 pandemic and the subsequent cost-of-living crisis in the United Kingdom

Wels,

Hamarat

2024

Preprint

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Background: Financial wellbeing is a determinant of mental health but the COVID-19 pandemic and the subsequent cost of living crisis generated by inflation have negatively impacted both aspects. Methods: Data come from Understanding Society. We address long-term (1991-2022) relationships between poor financial wellbeing (PFW), poor financial prospect (PFP) and psychological distress (GHQ-36 >= 9) using a conditional logit model as well as recent trends (2019-2022) using a Latent Growth Modelling (LGM) based on the diagonally weighted least squares (WLSMV) accounting for socio-demographic covariates and measures of deprivation. Multiple imputations were used for non-response. Results: Recent years have seen a surge in GHQ cases and PFP and consistent association between GHQ and PFW (OR=1.31; 95%CI=1.29;1.33) and PFP (OR= 1.13; 95%CI=1.12;1.15) are observed. The association between PFW and GHQ-36 slightly weakened during the pandemic [WLSMV: 0.30 (95%CI= 0.28; 0.33) in 2019; 0.27 (95%CI= 0.25; 0.30) in 2020] but strengthened for PFP [0.22 (95%CI= 0.19; 0.25) in 2019, 0.26 (95%CI= 0.23; 0.29) in 2020]. Those renting and those in the most deprived areas were more likely to report PFW whilst those in the least deprived areas and having a mortgage experiencing greater PFP, both contributing to explain psychological distress. Discussion: Policies implemented during the pandemic might have contributed to partially reduce the association between financial wellbeing and mental health but post-pandemic associations in the context of an early cost of living crisis show an increased risk with those living in the most deprived areas or not owing an accommodation more at risk.

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“…Works which have followed this line have determined that this economic recession has led to significant falls in well-being levels for citizens, albeit with major differences between them. For example, Mertens and Beblo ( 2016 ) point out that different levels of labour rights protection have triggered considerable differences between European nations. Other documents have focused on studying specific countries, such as Ireland (Weckroth et al, 2017 ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Subjective Well-Being and Aversion to Macroeconomic Losses: New Evidence

2021

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This work analyses the existence of asymmetric effects on the subjective well-being of the population of different countries in response to changes in the levels of aggregate income. Microdata from the Eurobarometer and the World Values Survey are used for the period 2000-2019. This period includes several economic changes, among which are the strong expansion at the beginning of the century, the Great Recession, and the subsequent recovery. Our study includes several groups of countries. In the broadest case, the study comprises a group of 83 countries and analyses the issue both from a global perspective as well as focusing particular attention on European countries. These asymmetric effects of economic activity are in line with behavioural economics and previous literature and allow us to determine a macroeconomic aversion to losses. The results obtained support the existence of asymmetric effects of changes in aggregate income on subjective well-being, and show that losses generated in recessions require a far more vigorous recovery if they are to be compensated for, and that they might even have permanent effects.

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Self-Reported Satisfaction and the Economic Crisis of 2007-10: Or How People in the UK and Germany Perceive a Severe Cyclical Downturn

Cited by 3 publications

References 111 publications

Does the macroeconomic context influence subjective well-being in Europe and Portugal? The puzzling case of the 2008 crisis

Does the macroeconomic context influence subjective well-being in Europe and Portugal? The puzzling case of the 2008 crisis

Examining the relationships between psychological distress and financial hardship and uncertainty during the COVID-19 pandemic and the subsequent cost-of-living crisis in the United Kingdom

Subjective Well-Being and Aversion to Macroeconomic Losses: New Evidence

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