We examine how functional-form assumptions affect conclusions about the existence of satiation in the relationship between income and emotional well-being. Previous studies have estimated a piecewise log-linear model with one structural break in both intercept and slope, which may lead to...

We estimate the effect of receiving a higher grade on an academic high school exit exam on labor-market outcomes in adulthood. Identification is based on comparing students on different sides of grade cutoffs. Using nationwide Finnish register data, we find that better grades lead to higher...

In genetics, heterosis refers to the phenomenon where crossbreeding within a species produces offspring with greater genetic fitness and superior phenotypic characteristics compared to their parents. We propose a novel socioeconomic heterosis hypothesis and examine whether genetic diversity at...

In genetics, heterosis describes how crossbreeding produces offspring with greater fitness than their parents. We propose a socioeconomic heterosis hypothesis: does genetic diversity at the individual level benefit economic success? Using UK Biobank data (N=488,152), we find that people with...

The relationship between economic development, inequality, and democratization has long been debated in the literature. Yet empirical analyses of this interplay have been limited and have yielded overall mixed and inconsistent results. This paper seeks to address this gap by examining the impact...

This study investigates the impact of child-related absence from work on the income of working mothers and fathers, addressing a significant research gap in sociology and labour economics. While previous research has established that gender and parenthood significantly influence income levels,...

The present study investigates the role of proximity in shaping social income static and dynamic comparisons and their impact on well-being, measured in terms of self-assessed health. Using the Spanish Survey of Household Finances (2002-2017), the study examines how individuals compare their...

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...

How do childhood environments contribute to intergenerational economic mobility? This paper explores the relative roles of family background (parents' wages, income, and wealth during the early years), and neighbourhoods (including access to services during childhood), in determining...

The issue of equality of opportunity is crucial in contemporary society, often examined in relation to income. Previous research has demonstrated the uncertain effect of income on mortality due to the presence of other factors. To empirically assess the difference in the effect of income on...

Population forecasts indicate that the world is facing massive demographic changes during the 21st century. This does not only involve the development of the total global population, but (more importantly) will also affect the population and age distribution across countries in a fundamental...

We estimate the effect of additional pension income on mortality outcomes by exploring the eli- gibility criteria of a German program subsidizing the pensions of low-wage workers. Using novel administrative data, we find that eligibility leads to a 2-month delay in age at death (censored at 75)....

This paper explores the relationships between air pollution, income, wealth, and race by combining administrative data from U.S. tax returns between 1979–2016, various measures of air pollution, and sociodemographic information from linked survey and administrative data. In the first year of...

A leading explanation for why in democratic societies the rich are not taxed more is that meritocratic beliefs breed tolerance for inequality. We problematize this account by claiming that, unlike the rich, the poor support greater redistribution regardless of how meritocratic they perceive...

The tax and transfer system partially insures households against individual income risk. We build a framework to assess the size and (welfare) value of this partial insurance, which is based on exploiting distributional differences between household gross income and disposable income. Our...

We leverage the introduction of the first antibiotic therapies in 1937 to examine the long run effects of early childhood pneumonia on adult educational attainment, employment, income, and work-related disability. Using census data, we document large average gains on all outcomes, alongside...

Using data from the German Socio-Economic Panel, we provide a comprehensive investigation of the relationship between workplace co-determination in the form of works councils and income satisfaction. Controlling for a wide range of individual, job-related, and firm-level characteristics in OLS...

We leverage the introduction of the first antibiotic therapies in 1937 to examine the long-run effects of early childhood pneumonia on adult educational attainment, employment, income, and work-related disability. Using census data, we document large average gains on all outcomes, alongside...

We leverage the introduction of the first antibiotic therapies in 1937 to examine the long-run effects of early childhood pneumonia on adult educational attainment, employment, income, and work-related disability. Using census data, we document large average gains on all outcomes, alongside...

The elasticity of taxable income (ETI) parameter is a key quantity in empirical analysis of tax policy and labor supply. We examine when a commonly applied class of ETI estimands can be used to learn about individuals' ETI parameters and their (un)compensated elasticities of labor supply. We...

Deforestation remains a major environmental concern in Sierra Leone, with implications for biodiversity, climate change and livelihoods. This underscores the urgency for sustainable forest practices. The study investigated the socio-economic determinants of deforestation in Sierra Leone. The...

Housing is the largest capital asset for most families. While the intergenerational mobility literature has extensively studied the income distribution, it has devoted less attention to housing, in part due to data limitations. We document 3 features of intergenerational mobility by comparing...

I document a sudden, sharp and historically unprecedented decline in self-reported happiness in the US population. It occurred during 2020, the year of the Covid pandemic, and mainly persists through 2024. This happiness crash spread across nearly all typical demographics and geographies. The...

In a worldwide context marked by increasing attention to financial literacy as a factor of financial inclusion, Morocco take part of this dynamic, seeking to improve the financial skills of its population. This article does not measure financial literacy directly but aims to explore the...

I document a sudden, sharp and historically unprecedented decline in self-reported happiness in the US population. It occurred during 2020, the year of the Covid pandemic, and mainly persists through 2024. This happiness crash spread across nearly all typical demographics and geographies. The...

Previous literature has identified income, poor health and social relationships as the most important predictors of subjective well-being (SWB). In addition, the literature has identified a non-linear relationship between age and SWB, with a dip in SWB in mid-life. Explanations of the non-linear...

This paper examines the nexus of income and multidimensional life satisfaction (LS) in the oil- and gas-rich Belait district of Brunei Darussalam. Using a random sample of 1,000 Belait residents and principal component factor analysis to sort 11 domains-of-life satisfaction into three...

Since 1972 the General Social Survey (GSS) has asked a representative sample of US adults "… [are] you…very happy, pretty happy, or not too happy?" Overall, the population is reasonably happy even after a mild recent decline. I focus on differences along standard socio demographic...

Aim/purpose - This paper aims to examine with new empirical evidence the joint relationships between violence, income inequality, and real income per capita in a simultaneous equation framework using a worldwide sample at the country level. Design/methodology/approach - To examine the several...

Welfare caseloads in North America halved following reforms in the 1990s and 2000s. We study how this shift affected families by linking Canadian welfare records to tax returns, medical spending, educational attainment, and crime data. We find substantial and heterogeneous employment responses...