We develop a model in which agents choose whether to achieve self-esteem through work. When they do, they develop an intrinsic motivtion to effort. Depending on the characteristics of the job to be filled, an employer may try, or not, to encourage this intrinsic motivation by an adequately...

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...

Although it is now widely-accepted that unemployment is associated with sharply lower levels of individual well-being, relatively little is known about how this effect depends on unemployment duration. Data from three large-scale European panels is used to shed light on this issue; these data...