Using data for 28 European countries for the 2008-2012 period, we examine whether employed individuals are affected by the economic crisis. We provide robust evidence that unfavourable macroeconomic conditions are negatively associated with the life satisfaction of employees. In addition, we...

Many authors have proposed incorporating measures of well-being into evaluations of public policy. Yet few evaluations use experimental design or examine multiple aspects of wellbeing, thus the causal impact of public policies on well-being is largely unknown. In this paper we examine the effect...

This paper examines the effects of county-level urbanization and natural amenities on subjective well-being (SWB) in the U.S. SWB is measured using individual-level data from the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) which asks respondents to rate their overall life satisfaction....

Various markets ban or heavily restrict monetary transfers. This is often motivated by moral concerns. However, it appears to be disputable whether the observed restrictions on transfers are the appropriate market design answer to these concerns. Instead of exogenously restricting transfers on a...

In Deutschland ist die öffentliche Debatte über Zuwanderung und Integration nicht erst seit der Veröffentlichung von Thilo Sarrazins Buch in vollem Gange. Fast ein Fünftel der Bevölkerung hierzulande hat einen Migrationshintergrund, bei den unter 20-Jährigen sind es sogar knapp 30%. Einen...

We study the effect of birth order on personality traits among men using population data on enlistment records and occupations for Sweden. We find that earlier born men are more persistent, socially outgoing, willing to assume responsibility, and able to take initiative than later-borns. In...

This study was prepared by Sven Neelsen while he was working with the ifo Institute for Economic Research. It was completed in December 2011 and accepted as a doctoral thesis by the Department of Economics at the University of Munich in May 2012. The study investigates long-run effects of...

The health status of people is a precious commodity and central to economic, socio-political, and environmental dimensions of any country. Yet it is often the missing statistic in all general statistics, demographics, and presentations about the portrait of immigrants and natives. In this paper...

Ökonomen neigen dazu, Wohlstand in erster Linie anhand von ökonomischen Kennziffern, so z. B. dem Pro-Kopf-Bruttoinlandsprodukt oder dem Lohn je Arbeitnehmer zu messen. Eine umfassendere Herangehensweise ist die Analyse der Lebenszufriedenheit, welche neben ökonomischen auch...