Subjective Wellbeing Dynamics

Abstract

A large multidisciplinary literature has sought to explain how a person's wellbeing changes over time in response to individual life events (for example, unemployment), and to larger scale interventions and events (for example, natural disasters). The Household, Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia (HILDA) Survey has been a key data source for such explorations because of its consistency, longevity and breadth of information. Through a review of past studies, we highlight some important features in the dynamics of subjective wellbeing; particularly focusing on the speed of adaptation to wellbeing shocks, and the presence of heterogeneity in adaptation profiles.