L’ONU a institué le 20 mars Journée mondiale du bonheur. C’est à cette date qu’est publié le World Happiness Report. Nous avons l’honneur d’avoir contribué à cette publication cette année, et vous invitons à suivre les conférences de lancement. Nous publierons une version française de notre contribution, ainsi que notre Rapport annuel sur le bien-être en France la semaine suivante. À très bientôt, donc !
Observatoire
De l’argent à la satisfaction, une affaire de couple
Cette étude examine la relation entre le revenu et le bien-être en France, en mettant l’accent sur les différences entre hommes et femmes. Bien que les femmes semblent à première vue plus sensibles au revenu que les hommes, cette différence s’explique principalement par les inégalités économiques au sein des couples, où les femmes gagnent généralement moins que leur conjoint. À la différence des résultats obtenus dans le contexte allemand, nous ne constatons en France aucune norme de genre de type « Monsieur Gagnepain » concernant la contribution des partenaires au revenu du ménage. La satisfaction des deux conjoints dépend davantage de la situation économique globale du foyer que de la répartition des revenus entre eux. On ne relève donc pas de différence fondamentale entre hommes et femmes dans leur rapport à l’argent, mais plutôt des différences qui reflètent les inégalités économiques entre eux.
Delassus, Joséphine. « De l’argent à la satisfaction, une affaire de couple ». Notes de l’Observatoire du bien-être. Paris: Cepremap, 10 février 2025. https://www.cepremap.fr/2025/02/de-largent-a-la-satisfaction-une-affaire-de-couple/.
Machine learning in the prediction of human wellbeing
Abstract: Subjective wellbeing data are increasingly used across the social sciences. Yet, despite the widespread use of such data, the predictive power of approaches commonly used to model wellbeing is only limited. In response, we here use tree-based Machine Learning (ML) algorithms to provide a better understanding of respondents’ self-reported wellbeing. We analyse representative samples of more than one million respondents from Germany, the UK, and the United States, using data from 2010 to 2018. We make three contributions. First, we show that ML algorithms can indeed yield better predictive performance than standard approaches, and establish an upper bound on the predictability of wellbeing scores with survey data. Second, we use ML to identify the key drivers of evaluative wellbeing. We show that the variables emphasised in the earlier intuition- and theory-based literature also appear in ML analyses. Third, we illustrate how ML can be used to make a judgement about functional forms, including the existence of satiation points in the effects of income and the U-shaped relationship between age and wellbeing.
Oparina, E., Kaiser, C., Gentile, N., Tkatchenko, A., Clark, A. E., De Neve, J.-E. et D’Ambrosio, C., 2025, Machine learning in the prediction of human wellbeing, Sci Rep, 15, p. 1632 https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-024-84137-1 (consulté le 7 février 2025).
Sur le web
Two paradoxes in women’s well-being
En France, la satisfaction dans la vie est la même qu’il y a 10 ans
Résumé : En 2023, en France, les personnes âgées de 16 ans ou plus attribuent en moyenne une note de satisfaction de 7,2 sur 10 à la vie qu’elles mènent actuellement. Ce niveau de satisfaction, proche de la moyenne européenne, a peu évolué depuis 2014. La satisfaction dans la vie, comme la majorité des indicateurs de bien-être, augmente avec le niveau de vie et diminue quand l’état de santé se dégrade.
Les plus jeunes font en moyenne moins confiance aux inconnus, mais sont plus satisfaits de leurs relations personnelles. À l’opposé, les plus âgés ont un sentiment d’être seul plus fréquent et un sentiment d’être heureux moins présent. Les personnes vivant en couple sont en moyenne plus satisfaites de leur vie que celles vivant seules. Enfin, les habitants des DOM sont moins satisfaits de leur vie que ceux de l’Hexagone.
Duée, M., Gleizes, F. and Solard, J. (2025) En France, la satisfaction dans la vie est la même qu’il y a 10 ans. 347. Paris: Insee. Available at: https://www.insee.fr/fr/statistiques/8352111.
Educational sorting in unions and subjective well-being in Europe: Gender differences and contextual variations
Abstract: This study examines the associations between educational sorting—the intra-couple difference in education—and subjective well-being of heterosexual partners in Europe, independent of each partner’s education status. It extends the literature by exploring whether and how these associations vary across societies and normative climates. A sample of 180,733 respondents in marriage or cohabitation from 29 countries was selected from Rounds 1–10 (2002–2020) of the European Social Survey and analyzed using the Diagonal Mobility Models. Pooled analyses show that net of status effects, hypergamy (women partnering with more educated men) was associated with lower well-being for both genders, and men were more satisfied with life in hypogamous relationships (partnering with more educated women). These patterns varied across societies, illustrated, for instance, by a hypergamy advantage among men in Southern Europe and women in the Baltic states. Notably, women’s well-being disadvantage in hypergamy was exacerbated in contexts where such partnerships were less normative. These findings provide unique insights into the diverse well-being outcomes of assortative mating between genders and across societies, shaped, in part, by societal norms.
Wang, Y., 2025, Educational sorting in unions and subjective well-being in Europe: Gender differences and contextual variations, Research in Social Stratification and Mobility, 96, p. 101020 https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0276562425000113 (consulté le 7 février 2025).
Child Penalties and Parental Role Models: Classroom Exposure Effects
Abstract: This paper investigates whether the effects of children on the labor market outcomes of women relative to men — child penalties — are shaped by the work behavior of peers’ parents during adolescence. Leveraging quasi-random variation in the fraction of peers with working parents across cohorts within schools, we find that greater exposure to working mothers during adolescence substantially reduces the child penalty in employment later in life. Conversely, we find that greater exposure to working fathers increases the penalty. Our findings suggest that parental role models during adolescence are critical for shaping child-related gender gaps in the labor market.
Kleven, Henrik, Giulia Olivero, et Eleonora Patacchini. « Child Penalties and Parental Role Models: Classroom Exposure Effects ». NBER Working Papers, NBER Working Papers, septembre 2024. https://ideas.repec.org//p/nbr/nberwo/33002.html.
Subjective School Experience and Well-Being during the COVID-19 Pandemic
Abstract: School life is an important determinant of adolescents’ subjective well-being. While there is now an extensive literature on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on adolescents’ well-being, adolescents’ school experience during the pandemic and how it relates to different dimensions of their subjective well-being has received little attention. This study addresses this gap by examining the relationship between young people’s school experience and their cognitive and affective subjective well-being during the COVID-19 pandemic in Luxembourg. We rely on a unique two-wave panel dataset that contains granular information about young people’s lives shortly after the onset of the pandemic in July 2020 and one year later in July 2021. Our study extends the current scientific knowledge on the COVID-19 pandemic by highlighting that while school experience has a weak relationship with affective subjective well-being (i.e., happiness), it is strongly associated with cognitive subjective well-being (i.e., life satisfaction), particularly one year after the pandemic outbreak for those with more negative feelings about school. Our study also reveals that our results on cognitive well-being are stratified by social status.
Fernandez-Urbano, Roger, Guido Salza, et Robin Samuel. « Subjective School Experience and Well-Being during the COVID-19 Pandemic ». Journal of Happiness Studies 26, no 2 (4 février 2025): 14. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10902-024-00839-3.
Declining Youth Well-being in 167 UN Countries. Does Survey Mode, or Question Matter?
Abstract: I find evidence from 167/193 UN member countries that the young have lower levels of well-being than older age groups, using self-reported data collected on the internet from the Global Minds internet-based surveys of 2020-2024 using their MHQ measure. We found that the evidence on the mental health of the young was different when self-reported, internet-based responses were used compared with those obtained via an interviewer, either face-to-face or via the telephone. Our analysis of the United States using 14 surveys taken using all three methods always found the young had the lowest well-being of any age group. The evidence for relatively low youth well-being on we collected using four major European surveys was stronger in internet-based surveys and when negative affect variables rather than life satisfaction and happiness were used. The young were significantly more lonely and more unhappy than all other age group, in 26/27 EU member countries in the internet-based EU Loneliness Survey of 2022. We also examined the Global Flourishing survey of 2022-2024 across 22 countries that used both telephone and web-based surveys and the results showed rising well-being in age, in the internet surveys and declining well-being in age in the telephone surveys. Mode of survey and question used matters. The young are experiencing a mental health crisis globally picked up especially in self-reports. This is new.
Blanchflower, David. « Declining Youth Well-being in 167 UN Countries. Does Survey Mode, or Question Matter? » NBER Working Paper. National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc, janvier 2025. https://econpapers.repec.org/paper/nbrnberwo/33415.htm.
Happy to help: welfare effects of a nationwide volunteering programme
Abstract: We study the wellbeing returns from volunteering in England’s National Health Service (NHS) Volunteer Responders, set up in response to Covid-19. Using linked survey and administrative data, we exploit the oversubscription of volunteers and the random allocation of tasks via an app to establish causality. Volunteers show stronger wellbeing and feelings of belongingness and connectedness to their local area. Welfare analyses suggest that the benefits of the programme substantially exceeded its costs. We are the first to study the welfare effects of a nationwide volunteering programme. Our findings show that pro-social behaviour improves personal wellbeing as well as social welfare.
Krekel, Christian, Ganga Shreedhar, Helen Lee, Claire Marshall, Alison Boler, Allison Smith, et Paul Dolan. « Happy to help: welfare effects of a nationwide volunteering programme ». LSE Research Online Documents on Economics. London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library, 25 novembre 2024. https://econpapers.repec.org/paper/ehllserod/126209.htm.
Peer Effects on Well-Being and Performance in Elementary School
Abstract: 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. We use a unique combination of administrative, survey, and test data on pupils in Danish public schools. We find that a higher share of high-SES peers increases well-being and performance while lowering absence rates slightly. Our results imply that educational inequalities may increase due to the growing concentration of high-SES pupils in certain schools.
Olufsen, Isabel Skak, et Jesper Fries. « Peer Effects on Well-Being and Performance in Elementary School ». CEBI working paper series. University of Copenhagen. Department of Economics. The Center for Economic Behavior and Inequality (CEBI), 10 janvier 2025. https://econpapers.repec.org/paper/kudkucebi/2501.htm.
Is Subjective Well-Being Insured Against Income Shocks? Evidence from 20-Year Panel Data in South Korea
Abstract: 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 find that permanent income shocks substantially penetrate life satisfaction, while transitory income shocks have minimal impact. We also find that life satisfaction regarding external factors such as family income and leisure activities is more sensitive to income shocks than life satisfaction related to social relationships. Our findings imply that it is critical for the government to address persistent income losses in the economy (e.g., long-term unemployment driven by skill-biased technological changes or work-limiting disability) as a means to improving social welfare.
Ahn, Jiyeon, Taehyun Ahn, et Seonghoon Kim. « Is Subjective Well-Being Insured Against Income Shocks? Evidence from 20-Year Panel Data in South Korea ». IZA Discussion Paper. Institute of Labor Economics (IZA), décembre 2024. https://econpapers.repec.org/paper/izaizadps/dp17514.htm.
The Hidden Value of Adult Informal Care in Europe
Abstract: The hidden value of adult informal care (IC) refers to the unaccounted value of informal care in overall costs of long-term care (LTC) estimates. This paper estimates the net value of adult IC in Europe, drawing on a well-being-based methodology. We use an instrumental variable strategy and a longitudinal and cross-country dataset to estimate the causal effect of the extensive and intensive margin of caregiving on subjective well-being. Finally, we estimate the so-called compensating surplus (CS), namely the income equivalent transfer, to compensate for the net disutility of caregiving. IC reduces average subjective well-being by about 1% compared to the mean (6% among co-residential caregivers). Relative to a country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP), the value of informal care ranges between 4.2% in France and 0.85% in Germany. Such relative value is inversely correlated with the country’s share of formal LTC spending, leading to reconsidering LTC regimes. The average CS per hour for IC is 9.55€, with a range from 22€ per hour in Switzerland to 5€ per hour in Spain. Additionally, long-term CS tends to be lower than short-term CS.
Costa-Font, Joan, et Cristina Vilaplana-Prieto. « The Hidden Value of Adult Informal Care in Europe ». IZA Discussion Paper. Institute of Labor Economics (IZA), décembre 2024. https://econpapers.repec.org/paper/izaizadps/dp17490.htm.
« Behind Blue Eyes ». The valuation of knowing someone who attempted or died by suicide in Sweden
Abstract: 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 Swedish adults, we separately estimate several life satisfaction equations. For each equation, we use the same comparison group of individuals who reported never having been exposed to others’ suicide, and compare them against different groups, each exposed to NFF-related suicide attempts or deaths. We find that income has a statistically significant positive impact on life satisfaction across all equations, and except for the experience of death alone, all other exposures to suicide have a statistically significant negative impact on life satisfaction. Next, we use these estimates to calculate the monetary compensation required to offset the decline in life satisfaction for individuals exposed to a NFF’s suicide attempt or death. The required annual monetary compensation to offset this decline ranges from 6,400 to 9,910 euros, which suggests an economic value for mitigating the negative effects of suicide exposure equivalent to around a median monthly household income. However, our findings should be considered with caution when used to inform healthcare policies and prevention strategies aimed at reducing the spillover effects of exposure to suicide.
Andrén, Daniela. « “Behind Blue Eyes”. The valuation of knowing someone who attempted or died by suicide in Sweden ». Working Paper. Örebro University, School of Business, 9 janvier 2025. https://econpapers.repec.org/paper/hhsoruesi/2025_5f002.htm.
Who Matters the Most? The Differential Role of Parents, Teachers, and Peers’ Supportive Relationships in Early Adolescents’ Subjective Well-Being
Abstract: Adolescent well-being is a multifaceted construct embedded in family, school, and peer socialization contexts. By adopting a social-psychological perspective we examined associations between three sources of support (parents, teachers, and peers) and specific components of subjective well-being (cognitive, affective, global, and domain-specific), to determine whether there is a functional specialization of the role that these socialization agents play in early adolescents’ perceptions of affective well-being and satisfaction with life in different domains. Albanian data from Wave 3 of the Children’s Worlds International Survey were used, including 2339 early adolescents (age range 9–13; girls = 49.3%). A structural equation model (SEM) was employed to examine associations between supportive relationships with parents, teachers, and peers and specific subjective well-being components. Results support a functional specialization hypothesis: Parents’ support was significantly related to global cognitive and affective well-being; teacher support was significantly related to school satisfaction; and peer support was significantly related to all subjective well-being variables (global and domain-based life satisfaction and affective well-being). The present findings contribute to a finer-grained understanding of the role of supportive relationships with adults and peers in proximal socialization contexts (family, school, peer groups) in how early adolescents perceive and evaluate their affective well-being and satisfaction with life globally and in specific domains.
Fino, E. et al. (2025) ‘Who Matters the Most? The Differential Role of Parents, Teachers, and Peers’ Supportive Relationships in Early Adolescents’ Subjective Well-Being’, Journal of Happiness Studies, 26(2), p. 19. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10902-024-00856-2.
How to Take Stock of Research Findings on Happiness in Regions Using the World Database of Happiness
Abstract: There is a demand for information on the quality of life in regions, among policymakers, business organizations and individuals. Much that information is available in the results of empirical studies, but it is difficult to get to that information. How to gather and select the available research findings and present these in a comparable way? In this paper I argue that the most inclusive indicator of quality-of-life in regions is how happy its inhabitants are. Happiness in the sense life-satisfaction is well measurable and comparable across place and time. Several survey studies provided information on the distribution of happiness in regions (average level and inequality) as well as on regional correlates of happiness. Reports of these studies are scattered, and the data are often presented in incomparable ways. Some of them used measures of happiness that do not fit the concept of happiness as life-satisfaction. Findings based on acceptable measures of happiness are gathered in the World Database of Happiness and presented in a standard format and terminology on electronic ‘finding pages’. By September 2024, this archive held 7666 findings on happiness in regions and cities, of which 4373 distributional findings and 2293 correlational findings. In this article, I demonstrate how these findings can be assessed and be used in review studies. Not all the available findings are entered in the World Database of Happiness as yet: about half as much are on the waiting list. Entering the existing findings may add more to our understanding than adding new data to the pile. In this paper, I show how colleagues can do that. I also point out how they use the technique of this findings archive to build a separate database on Happiness in Regions.
Veenhoven, Ruut. « How to Take Stock of Research Findings on Happiness in Regions Using the World Database of Happiness ». Applied Research in Quality of Life, 13 février 2025. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11482-024-10402-0.
The Misery of Diversity
Abstract: Evolutionary accounts assert that while diversity may lower subjective well-being (SWB) by creating an evolutionary mismatch between evolved psychological tendencies and the current social environment, human societies can adapt to diversity via intergroup contact under appropriate conditions. Exploiting a novel natural experiment in history, we examine the impact of the social environment, captured by population diversity, on SWB. We find that diversity lowers cognitive and hedonic measures of SWB. Diversity-induced deteriorations in the quality of the macrosocial environment, captured by reduced social cohesion, retarded state capacity, and increased inequality in economic opportunities, emerge as mechanisms explaining our findings. The analysis of first- and second-generation immigrants in Europe and the USA reveals that the misery of home country diversity persists even after neutralizing the role of the social environment. However, these effects diminish among the second generation, suggesting that long-term improvements in the social environment can alleviate the burden of diversity. Finally, in exploring whether human societies can adapt to diversity, we show evidence that diversity causes adopting cultural traits (such as establishing stronger family ties, assigning greater importance to friendships, and adopting a positive attitude towards competition) that can mitigate the misery of diversity. These results survive an exhaustive set of robustness checks.
Cesur, R. and Yıldırım, S. (2024) The Misery of Diversity. NBER Working Paper 33163. National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. Available at: https://econpapers.repec.org/paper/nbrnberwo/33163.htm (Accessed: 18 February 2025).
The Consequences of Social Policy for Subjective Well-Being: A New Paradox?
Abstract: By adopting approaches based on social expenditures and social rights data to measure the efficacy of social policy, significant advances have been made in international comparative research on social policy and subjective well-being (SWB). However, the question of whether the levels and distribution of welfare provisions play distinctive roles in SWB has remained largely unanswered. To address this issue, the present study adopts a third approach based on benefit recipiency data to clarify the more detailed effects of three dimensions of welfare transfers, namely, transfer share, low-income targeting, and universalism, on SWB and well-being inequality stemming from income. This analysis utilizes benefit recipiency data from the Luxembourg Income Study Database, pooled data from the World Values Survey from 1981 to 2022, and linear regression with country and time fixed effects and a country fixed-effects and slopes model. Through an international comparative analysis, this study reveals that (1) transfer share is positively associated with SWB and that (2) low-income targeting diminishes well-being inequality stemming from income at the cost of SWB among rich individuals. The results of this study indicate that the levels and distribution of welfare provisions play differing roles in SWB and that low-income targeting may have unintended consequences for SWB.
Akaeda, N. (2025) ‘The Consequences of Social Policy for Subjective Well-Being: A New Paradox?’, Journal of Happiness Studies, 26(3), p. 28. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10902-024-00849-1.
Gender Differences and Physical Limitations in the Association Between Subjective Well-Being and Cultural Consumption Among Older People
Abstract: The present study examines the association between patterns of cultural engagement and subjective well-being amongst older adults, with a focus on gender differences and physical limitations. We carried out a latent class analysis using Italian data from a 2018 survey to identify the profiles of cultural consumers, exploring the relationship between these profiles and life, leisure, and friendship satisfaction. The results show that allocating more time to diverse cultural experiences was associated with higher levels of subjective well-being, even in the presence of gender differences and physical limitations. Women who engaged in diverse cultural experiences with increased intensity and who participated in highbrow activities exhibited higher levels of leisure and friendship satisfaction than men. Moreover, the analysis emphasizes the potential of cultural participation for aging adults dealing with physical challenges documenting that their participation in a diverse range of cultural activities is positively associated with friend and leisure satisfaction. The findings highlight the importance of cultural participation in enhancing older adults’ well-being; it is hoped that they will be used to inform the development of targeted welfare policies.
Carella, M., Misuraca, R. Gender Differences and Physical Limitations in the Association Between Subjective Well-Being and Cultural Consumption Among Older People. J Happiness Stud 26, 38 (2025). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10902-025-00875-7
Does Happiness Foster Social Bonds? A Research Synthesis Using an Online Finding Archive
Abstract: It is widely agreed that social bonds should be strengthened but is not clear how that can be achieved. One way could be to foster happiness, since happiness seems to foster social bonds. If so, two desirables can be achieved together: happier people and stronger social bonds. This raises the following questions: Does happiness really foster social bonds? If so, is that effect universal? How strong is the effect? Does the strength vary across persons and situations? What are the causal mechanisms? To answer these questions we took stock of the available research findings, restricting to longitudinal studies examining the effect of earlier happiness on later social bonds. We used the World Database of Happiness (WDH), a findings-archive consisting of data about happiness in the sense of the subjective enjoyment of one’s life-as-a-whole. To date, the WDH contains the results of 16 follow-up studies on the relation between earlier happiness and later social bonds, which together yield 33 findings. We found strong evidence for a causal effect of happiness on the formation and stability of primary social bonds on happiness, in particular, with marriage, love and friendship. Happiness fosters social bonds and this effect seems to be universal. Consequently, fostering happiness can be used as a means to strengthen social bonds. This is another reason to opt for policies that aim to achieve greater happiness for a greater number.
Sharma, N., Agrawal, S. and Veenhoven, R. (2025) ‘Does Happiness Foster Social Bonds? A Research Synthesis Using an Online Finding Archive’, Journal of Happiness Studies, 26(3), p. 43. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10902-024-00747-6.
Mo Money Mo Problems? Economic Freedom and Subjective Happiness in Europe, 2010–2020
Abstract: It is widely held that economic freedom is fundamental for a society’s prosperity and growth, and neoliberalism has now become the dominant ideology in shaping our world. While a large literature on economic freedom has documented mainly favourable impacts on economic outcomes, only a handful of studies have examined the link between economic freedom and life quality. Building on the most recent data available on European countries, we combined the Index of Economic Freedom from the Frasier Institute with data from the World Bank, Varieties of Democracy and the European Social Survey in the period 2010–2020, allowing for a multilevel analysis of a total of nearly 199,000 respondents from 28 countries. At the individual level, the analysis controlled for the respondents’ demographic background, socio-economic status and social trust. At the country level we controlled for levels of democracy through a composite index. The results for the aggregate models indicate that there is a reversed U-shaped curvilinear association between economic freedom and happiness. However, the results of the disaggregate models, where we tested the associations between each of the individual components of economic freedom and happiness, indicate a reversed U-shape for only one of the five components, sound money. The one-sided focus on minimal government in the research and discourse on economic freedom seems mis-specified. By treating economic freedom as a general composite measure, we run the risk of dramatically over-simplifying the processes at play. Recent developments in multilevel methods and improved access to data should inspire further studies of how economic freedom can serve and benefit citizens’ well-being and thus contribute to well-functioning societies.
Martinussen, P.E. and Hilland, G.H. (2025) ‘Mo Money Mo Problems? Economic Freedom and Subjective Happiness in Europe, 2010–2020’, Journal of Happiness Studies, 26(3), p. 40. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10902-025-00877-5.
Declining Life Satisfaction and Happiness Among Young Adults in Six English-speaking Countries
Abstract: We report eleven studies that show declines in life satisfaction and happiness among young adults in the last decade or so, with less uniform trends among older adults. We found consistent evidence for this for the U.S. in the recent sweeps of several micro data sets including the Behavioral Risk Factor Survey, the General Social Survey, and the American National Election Survey. In the U. S. life satisfaction rises with age. This is broadly confirmed in several other datasets including four from the European Commission across five other English-speaking countries: Australia, Canada, Ireland New Zealand and the UK. Declining wellbeing of the young was also found in the World Values Survey, the Global Flourishing Study and Global Minds. There is broad evidence across all of these English-speaking countries that happiness and life satisfaction since 2020 rise with age. In several of these surveys we also find that ill-being declines in age. The U-shape in wellbeing by age that used to exist in these countries is now gone, replaced by a crisis in wellbeing among the young.
Twenge, J. and Blanchflower, D.G. (2025) ‘Declining Life Satisfaction and Happiness Among Young Adults in Six English-speaking Countries’. National Bureau of Economic Research (Working Paper Series). Available at: https://doi.org/10.3386/w33490.
Happiness and productivity: a research synthesis using an online findings archive
Abstract: The ‘happy productive worker’ thesis (HPW) holds that the happiness of workers has a positive impact on their productivity. In this study, we take stock of the research findings about the relationship between happiness on the productivity of workers that have been collected in the World Database of Happiness. We considered both objective and subjective productivity measures. In total, we drew on 33 studies that yielded 197 correlational findings over 27 countries and regions. The following questions were addressed: (1) Does happiness have a positive association with productivity? (2) Does the positive association between happiness and productivity differ across sectors and occupations? (3) Which component of happiness relates most to a productive workplace: how well a worker feels most of the time (the affective component) or the degree to which a worker feels able to get what they want from life (the cognitive or evaluative component)? (4) To what extent can we speak of a causal effect of happiness on productivity at work? Overall, the findings provide evidence of a positive relationship between happiness and productivity. The association between happiness and productivity at work differ across occupations and sectors and seems to be particularly strong for the affective component of happiness (how well a worker feels most of the time). More comparison studies are necessary to examine the relative importance of the affective and cognitive component. A causal effect of happiness on productivity is likely to exist but empirical evidence is thin on the ground.
Fang, Y., Veenhoven, R. and Burger, M.J. (2025) ‘Happiness and productivity: a research synthesis using an online findings archive’, Management Review Quarterly [Preprint]. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11301-025-00492-x.
Effects of the political configuration of local governments on subjective well-being
Abstract: Determining what makes a person happy is an extremely complicated task. The objective of this article is to identify the effects of the composition and orientation of governance bodies in municipalities on individual subjective well-being. We connect the data from a large Spanish welfare survey to municipal data covering the aforementioned dimensions of political configuration. Unlike previous country-level studies, we find no significant effects of political orientation when applied to municipal data. In contrast, political alternation emerges as a relevant driver of subjective well-being, especially when corrupt local governments are replaced. Furthermore, the fragmentation in the Spanish political landscape after the 2015 elections improved the level of political competition, which, in turn, exerted a positive effect on subjective well-being.
Carcaba, A., Gonzalez, E. and Arrondo, R. (2023) Effects of the political configuration of local governments on subjective well-being. MPRA Paper. University Library of Munich, Germany. Available at: https://econpapers.repec.org/paper/pramprapa/123248.htm (Accessed: 3 March 2025).