This paper investigates the relationship between the subjective well-being of both the employed and unemployed and regional unemployment rates. While employed men suffer from regional unemployment, unemployed men are significantly less negatively affected. This is consistent with a social-norm...

This paper combines ISSP survey data and experimental evidence from a gift-exchange game to determine the effect of status or relative income on work effort. We find a strong effect of others' incomes on individual effort decisions in both datasets. The individual's rank in the income...

It is well known that non-cognitive skills are an important determinant of success in life. However, their returns are not simple to measure and, as a result, relatively few studies have dealt with this empirical question. We consider sports participation while at school as one way of improving...

It is fairly banal to say that subjective health, the most widely-used health variable, is measured with error. In particular, it would seem important to know how subjective health information depends on the way in which it is collected, as this latter varies widely between countries and...

This paper uses repeated cross-section data ISSP data from 1989, 1997 and 2005 to consider movements in job quality. It is first underlined that not having a job when you want one is a major source of low well-being. Second, job values have remained fairly stable over time, although workers seem...

Le recours aux données subjectives permet d'analyser le lien entre revenu et bien-être individuel. Depuis le paradoxe d'Easterlin, de nombreux travaux ont essayé d'expliquer pourquoi au niveau agrégé, la croissance du revenu national ne semblait pas nécessairement entraîner celle du...

This paper provides unprecedented direct evidence from large-scale survey data on both the intensity (how much?) and direction (to whom?) of income comparisons. Income comparisons are considered to be at least somewhat important by three-quarters of Europeans. They are associated with both lower...