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Elusive Effects of Unemployment on Happiness

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ABSTRACT

This paper explores the connection between unemployment and subjective well-being in Finland using cross-sections for the years 1990, 1996 and 2000 from World Values Surveys. Interestingly, an unprecedented increase in the national unemployment rate (from 3 to 17%) did not produce a drop in the mean level of subjective well-being. Personally experiencing unemployment reduces life satisfaction, but does not have a significant effect on happiness in ordered logit estimation. However, generalized ordered logit estimation reveals that being unemployed has a negative effect on happiness at lower happiness scores, but no significant effect at high happiness levels.

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Correspondence to Petri Böckerman.

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Böckerman, P., Ilmakunnas, P. Elusive Effects of Unemployment on Happiness. Soc Indic Res 79, 159–169 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11205-005-4609-5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11205-005-4609-5

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