Ce mois de novembre a vu les premiers fruits de deux partenariats engagés de longue date. D’une part, nous sommes fiers d’avoir contribué au rapport de la Fondation Jean Jaurès sur les arbitrages des Français face à l’augmentation du prix de l’énergie. D’autre part, le dialogue avec les Réserves naturelles de France a donné lieu à un premier travail exploratoire sur les relations avec la nature des personnes qui fréquentent les réserves, dont nous livrons les premiers résultats.
Nous vous souhaitons une bonne fin d’année, et vous donnons déjà rendez-vous le 23 janvier prochain dans le cadre de la 22e Semaine du son de l’UNESCO, pour parler des relations entre environnement sonore et bien-être.
Observatoire
Les Français face à l’inflation — une sobriété contrainte
L’hiver 2022-2023, marqué par l’augmentation conjointe des prix de l’énergie et des aliments constitue un avant-goût d’une partie des effets du dérèglement climatique : des périodes de forte volatilité des prix, avec une adaptation brutale, et souvent contrainte, des ménages.
Sur la base d’une enquête réalisée par Ipsos pour RTE, nous montrons que le sentiment d’avoir fait ou dû faire des efforts difficiles durant cette période croise des éléments objectifs (les plus pauvres et les plus jeunes ont été plus affectés), subjectifs (à situation objective identique, les partisans des partis aux extrémités du spectre politique ont plus le sentiment d’avoir été affectés), et collectifs (encore à situation et niveau d’effort identique, les ménages dont le moyen de chauffage est individuel ont eu le sentiment d’un effort plus important que ceux à chauffage collectif, qui par construction savaient l’effort commun). Ces trois dimensions fixent les axes impératifs pour une transition écologique acceptable : une assistance aux ménages pour lesquels l’augmentation des prix implique de rogner sur l’essentiel (santé, alimentation, mobilité contrainte), une prise en compte de la pluralité des motivations et des valeurs qui les sous-tendent, et l’importance du sentiment d’un effort collectif équitablement partagé.
Blanc, C., Perona, M. et Senik, C., 2024, Les Français face à l’inflation — une sobriété contrainte, Paris https://www.cepremap.fr/2024/11/note-de-lobservatoire-du-bien-etre-n2024-14-les-francais-face-a-linflation-une-sobriete-contrainte/.
Ce travail a également été intégré dans le rapport de la Fondation Jean Jaurès Consommation énergétique : comment arbitrent les Français ?, qui regroupe un ensemble d’études sur la même enquête. Nous remercions la Fondation de nous avoir donné l’opportunité de contribuer à ce travail collectif.
Renouer le contact avec la nature
En 2023, les Réserves naturelles de France et l’Observatoire du Bien-être ont élaboré un questionnaire afin de mieux connaître la perception des réserves naturelles par le public et de mettre en évidence la contribution des réserves au bien-être. Ce questionnaire a été diffusé par l’intermédiaire de réserves volontaires sur le cours des années 2023 et 2024. Ce rapport exploite les 1 475 réponses utilisables reçues en retour. Celles-ci font apparaître une bonne connaissance des réserves par ce public du premier cercle, marqué par une forte part de femmes et de titulaires d’un diplôme élevé. Ce public habite en majorité à proximité de la réserve, et une bonne part s’y rend à pied. Les réserves sont associées à une plus-value pour le territoire, et les contraintes, lorsqu’elles sont perçues, sont vécues comme légitimes. Cette population a toutefois conscience de l’existence de groupes moins favorables aux réserves au sein de la population locale. Cet échantillon se caractérise également par un niveau de bien-être subjectif supérieur à la moyenne nationale, et un très fort sentiment de proximité avec la nature. Ce sentiment de proximité avec la nature constitue un prédicteur significatif du bien-être, au-delà des éléments socio-économiques.
Ce travail démontre la possibilité d’utiliser un questionnaire de ce type, avec un échantillonnage plus serré, pour mettre en évidence la contribution d’une réserve naturelle au bien-être de la population du territoire environnant.
Perona, Mathieu. Renouer le contact avec la nature. Observatoire du bien-être, Cepremap, octobre 2024, https://www.cepremap.fr/publications/12095/.
The Easterlin paradox at 50
Abstract: We use Gallup World Poll data from over 150 countries from 2009-2019 at both the individual and country levels to revisit the relationship between income and subjective wellbeing. Our inspiration is the paradox first proposed by Easterlin (1974), according to which higher incomes are associated with greater happiness in cross-sections yet increases in a country’s GDP per head do not increase its average wellbeing. In our analysis subjective wellbeing (or happiness) is measured by the Cantril ladder on a 0-10 scale. Across individuals, other things equal, one unit of log income raises subjective wellbeing by 0.4 points. In other words, doubling income raises wellbeing by 0.3 points out of 10. Across countries, a crude regression of log income on per capita income gives a higher coefficient of 0.6. But, once social variables like health and social support are introduced, the picture changes. In rich countries, income no longer has a significant effect, either in country cross-sections or in time series: higher income only matters due to its correlation with the social variables. For low-income countries the result is also clear cut – income raises happiness in both cross-section and time series, whether the social variables are controlled for or not. For middle income countries the result is mixed.
Oparina, E., Clark, A.E. and Layard, R. (2024) The Easterlin paradox at 50. CEPDP2048. Centre for Economic Performance, LSE. Available at: https://cep.lse.ac.uk/_new/publications/abstract.asp?index=11247 (Accessed: 29 November 2024).
Sur le Web
The influence of kindness on academics’ identity, well-being and stress
Abstract: The well-being of people working and studying in higher education, including students, staff, and faculty, is a topic of increasing concern. The lack of well-being may be attributed to the current academic context, which does not consistently provide cues that affirm social inclusion to all members of the academic population. This study examines the role of kindness (defined as actions that affirm dignity and social inclusion) in promoting identification with community and well-being in higher education utilizing a cross-sectional study of 182 diverse members of higher education. To assess the extent that kindness relates to the acquisition of institutional identity, well-being, and stress, we developed and validated two novel psychometric rating scales for kindness: Kindness Received (α = 0.927, ώ = .921) and Kindness Given (α = .859, ώ = .860). Initial analysis showed that receiving kindness was significantly associated with increased well-being, reduced stress, and improved institutional identity. Giving kindness was significantly associated with decreased stress reduction and decreased institutional identity. Results from structural equation modeling shows that institutional identity mediates the relationship between receiving kindness and well-being. Qualitative analysis of micronarratives regarding kindness showed that feeling safe and being acknowledged are the most commonly described experiences of kindness, both acts that affirm dignity. The findings from this study suggests that kindness contributes towards improving diverse people’s well-being and increased identification with institutions of higher education. Measurement of kindness provides methods for assessing institutional changes that foster greater positivity and inclusion in higher education settings.
Hosoda KK, Estrada M (2024) The influence of kindness on academics’ identity, well-being and stress. PLoS ONE 19(10): e0312269. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0312269
Young Women’s Financial Satisfaction: The Roles of Financial Decision-Making Power, Spousal Relative Resources, and Personal Financial Characteristics
Abstract: This study examines the relationships of financial decision-making power, spousal relative resources, and personal financial characteristics with financial satisfaction. Using a sample of young American women with lower income who were married or cohabiting (N = 303), we found that women with higher financial decision-making power in savings and investments as well as in managing regular bills than their spouses were more likely to have higher financial satisfaction compared to women with spouses having higher financial decision-making power. These associations were derived from married women, rather than cohabiting women. Interestingly, women with higher incomes than their spouses reported a lower level of financial satisfaction compared to women with spouses having a higher income. The same pattern was observed for spousal relative education. Subjective financial knowledge had a positive association with financial satisfaction. We also examined potential moderating roles of education, which suggests that women with higher education had a more pronounced association between financial decision-making power in savings and investments and higher financial satisfaction. Our findings provide implications for policymakers, financial service providers, and family life practitioners to potentially reduce gender inequality in intrahousehold financial decision-making, which ultimately benefits financially vulnerable women’s financial satisfaction.
Fan, L., Ryu, S. Young Women’s Financial Satisfaction: The Roles of Financial Decision-Making Power, Spousal Relative Resources, and Personal Financial Characteristics. J Fam Econ Iss (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10834-024-09996-2
The Impact of PhD Studies on Mental Health—A Longitudinal Population Study
Abstract: Recent self-reported and cross-sectional survey evidence documents high levels of mental health problems among PhD students. We study the impact of PhD studies on mental health care uptake using Swedish administrative records of prescriptions for psychiatric medication for the full population of PhD students. First, we provide descriptive evidence that PhD students collect psychiatric medication at a higher rate than a matched sample of individuals holding a master’s degree, but at a lower rate than a matched sample from the general population. Second, we implement an event study analysis and document that, in the years preceding their PhD studies, prospective students collect psychiatric medication at a rate similar to that of a matched sample of individuals holding a master’s degree. However, following the start of PhD studies, the use of psychiatric medication among PhD students increases substantially. This upward trend continues throughout the course of PhD studies, with estimates showing a 40 percent increase by the fifth year compared to pre-PhD levels. After the fifth year, which represents the average duration of PhD studies in our sample, we observe a notable decrease in the utilization of psychiatric medication.
Bergvall, Sanna & Fernström, Clara & Ranehill, Eva & Sandberg, Anna, 2024. « The Impact of PhD Studies on Mental Health—A Longitudinal Population Study, » Working Papers 2024:5, Lund University, Department of Economics.
How Does Work-Life Conflict Influence Wellbeing Outcomes? A Test of a Mediating Mechanism Using Data from 33 European Countries
Abstract: Reflecting a recent guideline for operationalizing subjective wellbeing (OECD, 2023), this study tested a model that shows how work-life conflict, one of the key dimensions that detracts from wellbeing outcomes. It does so through a mediating mechanism involving domain satisfaction (i.e., family and work wellbeing), subjective wellbeing, and eudaimonic wellbeing. Specifically, we theorize that work-life conflict detracts from both family and work wellbeing, which in turn decreases subjective wellbeing. In turn, decreases in subjective wellbeing serve to decrease eudaimonic wellbeing. We also argue that work-life conflict has direct adverse effects on both subjective wellbeing and eudaimonic wellbeing. Data collected from the 2016 European Quality of Life Survey were used to test the model; the sample included 18,137 respondents from 33 European countries. The results from multi-level modeling were supportive of our hypotheses. Policy implications were discussed, along with study limitations and suggestions for future research.
Sirgy, M.J., Joshanloo, M. and Yu, G.B. (2024) ‘How Does Work-Life Conflict Influence Wellbeing Outcomes? A Test of a Mediating Mechanism Using Data from 33 European Countries’, Applied Research in Quality of Life [Preprint]. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11482-024-10401-1.
Disability and Life Satisfaction: The Role of Accessibility
Abstract: There exists a significant difference between the life satisfaction of people with and without disabilities, to the disadvantage of the former. The present work investigates the association between environmental accessibility and life satisfaction by disability status. The environmental accessibility index is built based on the results of the 2012 Eurobarometer survey on accessibility, while empirical analyses are conducted using data from the EU-SILC 2013, which includes an ad hoc module on wellbeing. We test the following hypotheses using Blinder–Oaxaca decompositions: 1. Coeteris paribus, environmental accessibility is associated with a reduction of the difference between the life satisfaction of people without disabilities and people with disabilities; 2. The negative association of environmental accessibility with the difference in life satisfaction by disability status is greater in absolute value among women and people in the lowest income quartile. Both hypotheses are fully supported.
Bellia, A. and Corsini, L. (2024) ‘Disability and Life Satisfaction: The Role of Accessibility’, Journal of Happiness Studies, 25(8), p. 115. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10902-024-00835-7.
Explaining Happiness Trends in Europe by Welfare Policies and Economic Growth: Easterlin and O Connor Revisited
Abstract: Easterlin and O’Connor (PNAS 2022) have investigated which economic, social, political, and ecological factors explain long-run (36-year) changes in European countries’ happiness (life satisfaction). Considering six potential predictors advanced in the pertinent literature, they found only rising welfare state generosity to be significantly associated with rising happiness. Noticing a salient characteristic of the data used – a strong and significant association between happiness trends and initial happiness levels – I modify this analysis by controlling for initial happiness levels and by considering long-run relative changes in addition to absolute changes in happiness. Both modifications respond to the circumstance that happiness scales are bounded so that it is hard for happiness to increase – especially in absolute terms – if it is already high. I find the inclusion of initial happiness to greatly increase the explanatory power (R2) of the regression models considered and, as a consequence, to raise the precision of coefficient estimates. Due to increased precision, not only welfare state generosity but also growth in per-capita GDP is found to significantly predict both absolute and relative long-run changes in countries’ happiness, whereas other candidate explanatory variables remain insignificant. Welfare state generosity and GDP growth are not only statistically, but also economically significant.
Welsch, H. (2024) ‘Explaining Happiness Trends in Europe by Welfare Policies and Economic Growth: Easterlin and O Connor Revisited’, Working Papers [Preprint]. Available at: https://ideas.repec.org//p/old/dpaper/447.html (Accessed: 29 November 2024).