The social norm of unemployment suggests that aggregate unemployment reduces the wellbeing of the employed, but has a … the appropriate distinction may not be between employment and unemployment, but rather between higher and lower levels of … regional unemployment. However, the insecure employed and the poor-prospect unemployed are less negatively, or even positively …

regional unemployment rates. While employed men suffer from regional unemployment, unemployed men are significantly less … negatively affected. This is consistent with a social-norm effect of unemployment in Germany. We find no evidence of such an …