Gross domestic product (GDP) is the most widely used indicator from the system of national accounts. Although often interpreted as an indicator for (economic) well-being, it first and foremost monitors economic activity, and falls short of reflecting broader measures which try to capture...

Loneliness poses a serious health risk: Along with negatively impacting life quality, it can even shorten the life span. This Weekly Report investigates loneliness in Germany using Socio-Economic Panel (SOEP) data from 2021 on loneliness. The analyses highlight the prevalence of three facets of...

Climate change and violent conflict are defining challenges of our time. However, it is not yet understood how they interact in shaping human welfare and food security, how their interaction shapes gendered outcomes, or how social protection systems can mitigate their impact. To address these...

We study the effect of having high socioeconomic status (SES) peers on pupils' wellbeing, absence rate, and academic performance in elementary school. We compare pupils in the same school who started school in different years and, consequently, were exposed to different shares of high-SES peers....

Since 1972, the General Social Survey has periodically asked whether people are happy with Yes, Maybe or No type answers. Here I use a net "happiness" measure, which is percentage Yes less percentage No with Maybe treated as zero. Average happiness is around +20 on this scale for all respondents...

The population of people with disabilities in Brazil is estimated at 18.6 million people, corresponding to approximately 8.9% of the population aged 2 years or older. Statistical data indicate significant inequalities in the areas of education and employment, as well as regional disparities...

Advancing the economic understanding of suicide's externalities, this study uses the well-being valuation method (WVM) to quantify the exposure to suicide, specifically through knowing someone near, family, or friend (NFF) who attempted or died by suicide. First, using data from a survey of...

Using 20 years of nationally representative panel data in South Korea, we estimate how life satisfaction responds to income shocks. We document that unexpected income changes significantly impact an individual's life satisfaction, and the magnitudes depend on the persistence of income shocks. We...

This paper examines the understudied effect of relative age on mental health in adulthood. Our empirical analysis utilizes nationwide Finnish register-based data on mental health, encompassing a spectrum of conditions from severe to less severe mental health problems. To identity causal effects,...