Nous entamons la rentrée avec trois annonces de publication. Notre note de conjoncture d’été, parue un peu plus tard que d’habitude, met en évidence une grande inquiétude des Français quant à l’économie du pays et leurs finances personnelles, même si les métriques de bien-être subjectif résistent encore.
Nous poursuivons en ce début septembre notre exploration de l’International Survey Program quant aux représentations des sociétés. Après avoir montré en mai les ambiguïtés de la vision de la France comme une société de classes moyennes, nous adoptions une perspective plus comparative pour positionner les représentations des Français quant à leurs perspectives de mobilité sociale.
Enfin, nous avons le plaisir de vous annoncer la sortie d’un Opuscule, Le Bonheur est sur Twitter, qui est la première pierre d’un chantier de mobilisation de nouvelles données pour mieux comprendre le bien-être et le moral des Français. L’ouvrage s’accompagne d’un nouveau baromètre en ligne, consultable dès maintenant ! Nous espérons vous retrouver pour la présentation, le 22 septembre.
Observatoire
Le Bonheur est sur Twitter : Un baromètre du moral des Français
Nous avons le plaisir de vous inviter le jeudi 22 septembre à la présentation d’un travail que nous menons depuis plus d’un an avec Thomas Renault (Paris 1) : comment mobiliser Twitter pour avoir une image en temps court du moral des Français ?
Publiée sous la double forme d’un Opuscule et d’un Baromètre en ligne, cette première étape montre que nous pouvons ainsi construire des indicateurs complémentaires, qui éclairent des points aveugles de notre enquête trimestrielle.
Rendez-vous à 12h30, salle P004 du campus Jourdan, 48 Bd Jourdan, Paris 14e, le 22 jeudi septembre.
Note de l’Observatoire du Bien-être n°2022-10 : Le Bien-être des Français – Juin 2022
Notre baromètre de juin 2022 fait apparaître l’image d’un rétablissement du volet émotionnel du bien-être subjectif, d’une stabilité de la plupart des autres domaines, mais d’une grande inquiétude quant aux perspectives économiques.
Sur le volet matériel, la satisfaction des individus à l’égard de leur propre niveau de vie résiste également. Par contraste, un tiers des ménages ont le sentiment que leur situation financière s’est dégradée au cours de l’année passée, et une part similaire pensent qu’il va en être de même dans l’année à venir.
Ce pessimisme quant à la situation financière individuelle s’étend au domaine collectif, 40% des ménages estimant que la situation économique du pays va nettement se dégrader au cours de l’année à venir.
Note 2022-11 : La Mobilité sociale perçue par les Français
Les Français se représentent leur société comme très inégalitaire mais, comme la plupart des Européens, s’y voient occuper une place de niveau intermédiaire – même si, aux côtés des Russes, des Italiens et des Japonais, ils sont plus nombreux que les autres à se voir sur les niveaux inférieurs de l’échelle sociale. Mais au-delà de cette position statique, comment perçoivent-ils leur mobilité sociale ?
Données
ESS Round 10
Nous l’avons manqué pour notre précédente newlsetter : les premières données de la dixième vague de l’Enquête Sociale Européenne (2020 – 2022) ont été publiées fin juin. Cette vague inclut deux modules, un sur la compréhension et la perception de la démocracie, et l’autre sur les relations numériques dans les relations professionnelles et familliales.
Accelerating wellbeing data analysis
Le What Works Wellbeing a publié un ensemble de codes destinés à faciliter l’usage d’enquêtes britanniques comprenant des métriques de bien-être subjectif : la Time Use Survey, les mesures de l’ONS au niveau local et celles sur le bien-être chez les personnels de l’administration publique. Il s’agit d’une initiative que nous saluons, et nous nous donnons quelques mois pour faire de même, avec des codes pour la mobilisation des enquêtes Camme et SRCV.
Les Français et les politiques climatiques
Début juillet, le Conseil d’Analyse Économique a publié une Note intitulée « Les Français et les politique climatiques », qui détaille les données françaises d’une enquête de l’OCDE. Lecture recommandée !
Antoine Dechezleprêtre, Adrien Fabre, et Stefanie Stantcheva, « Les Français et les politiques climatiques », Note du Conseil d’Analyse Économique (Paris, France: Conseil d’analyse économique, 12 juillet 2022), https://www.cae-eco.fr/les-francais-et-les-politiques-climatiques.
Lu sur le web
Employee Satisfaction and Long-Run Stock Returns, 1984–2020
Abstract: Economic theory predicts that (in the absence of mispricing) the excess return to socially responsible businesses is negative in equilibrium. In contrast, using the state-of-art empirical models and a sample spanning four decades (1984–2020), an equal-weighted portfolio of companies that treat their employees the best earns an excess return of 2% to 2.7% per year. The estimated alphas are positive in most periods within the sample (with no upward or downward trend) and are particularly large during crisis periods. Overall, the results suggest that the stock market (still) undervalues employee satisfaction.
Hamid Boustanifar et Young Dae Kang, « Employee Satisfaction and Long-Run Stock Returns, 1984–2020 », Financial Analysts Journal 0, no 0 (16 juin 2022): 1‑23, https://doi.org/10.1080/0015198X.2022.2074241.
Voir aussi la présentation en français pour The Conversation.
Moral Expansiveness Around the World: The Role of Societal Factors Across 36 Countries
Abstract: What are the things that we think matter morally, and how do societal factors influence this? To date, research has explored several individual-level and historical factors that influence the size of our ‘moral circles.’ There has, however, been less attention focused on which societal factors play a role. We present the first multi-national exploration of moral expansiveness—that is, the size of people’s moral circles across countries. We found low generalized trust, greater perceptions of a breakdown in the social fabric of society, and greater perceived economic inequality were associated with smaller moral circles. Generalized trust also helped explain the effects of perceived inequality on lower levels of moral inclusiveness. Other inequality indicators (i.e., Gini coefficients) were, however, unrelated to moral expansiveness. These findings suggest that societal factors, especially those associated with generalized trust, may influence the size of our moral circles.
Kelly Kirkland et al., « Moral Expansiveness Around the World: The Role of Societal Factors Across 36 Countries », Social Psychological and Personality Science, 4 juillet 2022, 19485506221101770, https://doi.org/10.1177/19485506221101767.
The importance of ecological quality of public green and blue spaces for subjective well-being
Abstract: There is now considerable evidence that the natural environment provides health and well-being benefits in urban environments. However, little is understood about the role of ecological quality in maximising well-being gains. We examine the relationship between the accessibility of public natural spaces of high ecological quality and two measures of subjective well-being for adults, using the British Household Panel Survey (BHPS), a large, longitudinal panel dataset. We then compare this relationship with that found with all Public Open Spaces, regardless of their ecological quality. We use the designation of Sites of Importance for Nature Conservation (SINC) as an objective indication of high-quality green- or bluespace, and life satisfaction and mental distress as measures of well-being. We use the Areas of Deficiency dataset from Greenspace Information for Greater London CIC (GiGL) to identify residential areas with more than a 1 km walk from a SINC, based on actual walking routes from known access points. Postcode-level analysis using regression modelling reveals that living beyond a 1 km walk of a SINC decreases an individual’s life satisfaction by 0.117 points on a scale of 1 to 7. No relationship is found for mental distress. We also do not find any significant relationship between either well-being measure and all Public Open Spaces. These findings suggest that the ecological quality of publicly accessible open spaces is important for the well-being of residents in Greater London and highlights the need for improving the provision of high-quality green- and bluespaces in urban areas.
Sarah J. Knight, Colin J. McClean, et Piran C. L. White, « The Importance of Ecological Quality of Public Green and Blue Spaces for Subjective Well-Being », Landscape and Urban Planning 226 (1 octobre 2022): 104510, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.landurbplan.2022.104510.
Social media’s enduring effect on adolescent life satisfaction
Abstract: In this study, we used large-scale representative panel data to disentangle the between-person and within-person relations linking adolescent social media use and well-being. We found that social media use is not, in and of itself, a strong predictor of life satisfaction across the adolescent population. Instead, social media effects are nuanced, small at best, reciprocal over time, gender specific, and contingent on analytic methods.
Amy Orben, Tobias Dienlin, et Andrew K. Przybylski, « Social media’s enduring effect on adolescent life satisfaction », Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 116, no 21 (21 mai 2019): 10226‑28, https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1902058116.
Commuting and wellbeing: a critical overview of the literature with implications for policy and future research
Abstract: This review provides a critical overview of what has been learnt about commuting’s impact on subjective wellbeing (SWB). It is structured around a conceptual model which assumes commuting can affect SWB over three time horizons: (i) during the journey; (ii) immediately after the journey; and (iii) over the longer term. Our assessment of the evidence shows that mood is lower during the commute than other daily activities and stress can be induced by congestion, crowding and unpredictability. People who walk or cycle to work are generally more satisfied with their commute than those who travel by car and especially those who use public transport. Satisfaction decreases with duration of commute, regardless of mode used, and increases when travelling with company. After the journey, evidence shows that the commute experience “spills over” into how people feel and perform at work and home. However, a consistent link between commuting and life satisfaction overall has not been established. The evidence suggests that commuters are generally successful in trading off the drawbacks of longer and more arduous commute journeys against the benefits they bring in relation to overall life satisfaction, but further research is required to understand the decision making involved. The evidence review points to six areas that warrant policy action and research: (i) enhancing the commute experience; (ii) increasing commute satisfaction; (iii) reducing the impacts of long duration commutes; (iv) meeting commuter preferences; (v) recognising flexibility and constraints in commuting routines and (vi) accounting for SWB impacts of commuting in policy making and appraisal.
Kiron Chatterjee et al., « Commuting and wellbeing: a critical overview of the literature with implications for policy and future research », Transport Reviews 40, no 1 (2 janvier 2020): 5‑34, https://doi.org/10.1080/01441647.2019.1649317.
How Effective Is (More) Money? Randomizing Unconditional Cash Transfer Amounts in the US
Abstract: We randomized over 5,000 US individuals in poverty to one of three conditions during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic: receiving a one-time $500 unconditional cash transfer (UCT; half a month’s worth of total household income for the median participant; N=1,374), a $2,000 UCT (two months’ income; N=699), or nothing (N=3,170). We measured the effects of the UCTs on participants’ financial well-being, psychological well-being, cognitive capacity, and physical health through surveys administered one week, six weeks, and 15 weeks after cash receipt. For 43% of our sample, we also observe bank account balances and financial transactions. While the cash transfers increased expenditures for a few weeks, we find no evidence that they had positive impacts on our pre-specified survey outcomes at any time point. We further find no significant differences between the $500 and $2,000 groups. These findings stand in stark contrast to the (incentivized) predictions of both experts and a nationally representative sample of laypeople, who—depending on the treatment group, outcome, and time period—estimated treatment effect sizes of +0.16 to +0.65 SDs. We test several explanations for these unexpected results, including via two survey experiments embedded in our trial. The data are most consistent with the notion that receiving some but not enough money made participants’ needs – and the gap between their resources and needs – more salient, which in turn generated feelings of distress.
Ania Jaroszewicz et al., « How Effective Is (More) Money? Randomizing Unconditional Cash Transfer Amounts in the US », SSRN Scholarly Paper (Rochester, NY, 5 juillet 2022), https://papers.ssrn.com/abstract=4154000.
Do Gender, Child, and Parent Characteristics Contribute to Intergenerational Subjective Well-being Mobility? Evidence from Russia during 1994-2019
Abstract: Measuring the intergenerational mobility of welfare provides key inputs for policies, but very few studies examine intergenerational mobility of subjective well-being (SWB), particularly in a poorer, transitional country context. We make new contributions by analyzing rich panel SWB data from Russia over the past quarter century, which address various shortcomings with traditional income data. We find that intergenerational SWB mobility-as measured by subjective wealth and life satisfaction-exists, with daughters having higher transmission of SWB from their mothers than sons. Adding other child and parent characteristics to the multivariate regression models can reduce the estimated impacts of mothers’ SWB by up to 40% but does not change the gender gaps in the intergenerational transmission. Our results are robust to different model specifications and sample restrictions.
Hai-Anh Dang et Kseniya Abanokova, « Do Gender, Child, and Parent Characteristics Contribute to Intergenerational Subjective Well-being Mobility? Evidence from Russia during 1994-2019 », GLO Discussion Paper Series (Global Labor Organization (GLO), 2022), https://econpapers.repec.org/paper/zbwglodps/1088.htm.
Does income inequality change the relationship between environmental attitudes and subjective well-being? Evidence for 27 European countries
Abstract: This paper explores the effects of income inequality on the relationship between environmental attitudes and life satisfaction across 27 European countries. Furthermore, it assesses the influence of the European Union on their citizens’ behavior regarding the link between environmental attitudes and happiness. Using data from European Values Study, it applies an ordered probit model. The findings suggest that subjective and objective income inequality do not change the relationship between environmental attitudes and welfare, providing evidence of the “commitment effect”. The results also show similar performance of the relationship between environmental attitudes and well-being between EU-members and non-EU members.
Ary Júnior, « Does income inequality change the relationship between environmental attitudes and subjective well-being? Evidence for 27 European countries », Working Papers REM (ISEG – Lisbon School of Economics and Management, REM, Universidade de Lisboa, mai 2022), https://econpapers.repec.org/paper/iseremwps/wp02292022.htm.
In Debt but Still Happy? – Examining the Relationship Between Homeownership and Life Satisfaction
Abstract: We investigate the relationship between homeownership and life as well as housing satisfaction. Using panel data from Germany, we find that compared to renting, owning a home positively impacts housing satisfaction. Contrarily, we find no significant effects on life satisfaction in the long-term. Analysing short-term effects in an event-study design, we show that both life and housing satisfaction anticipate the event and adapt shortly after. Debt-free buyers, however, do not experience anticipation or adaptation effects at all. Comparing outright homebuyers to debt-financing owners, we show that having a real estate loan impacts homeowners’ life satisfaction negatively. Paying off a loan does not differently affect the housing satisfaction of both types of buyers. We conclude that the negative effect of loan payments on life satisfaction offsets the positive impact of homeownership.
Sebastian Will et Timon Renz, « In Debt but Still Happy? – Examining the Relationship Between Homeownership and Life Satisfaction », SOEPpapers on Multidisciplinary Panel Data Research (DIW Berlin, The German Socio-Economic Panel (SOEP), 2022), https://econpapers.repec.org/paper/diwdiwsop/diw_5fsp1164.htm.