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Life satisfaction of employees, labour market tightness and matching efficiency

Author

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  • Pablo de Pedraza
  • Martin Guzi
  • Kea Tijdens

Abstract

Purpose - Di Tellaet al.(2001) show that temporary fluctuations in life satisfaction (LS) are correlated with macroeconomic circumstances such as gross domestic product, unemployment and inflation. In this paper, we bring attention to labour market measures from search and matching models (Pissarides 2000). Design/methodology/approach - Our analysis follows the two-stage estimation strategy used in Di Tellaet al.(2001) to explore sectoral unemployment levels, labour market tightness and matching efficiency as LS determinants. In the first stage, we use a large sample of individual data collected from a continuous web survey during the 2007–2014 period in the Netherlands to obtain regression-adjusted measures of LS by quarter and economic sector. In the second-stage, we regress LS measures against the unemployment level, labour market tightness and matching efficiency. Findings - Our results are threefold. First, the negative link between unemployment and an employee's LS is confirmed at the sectoral level. Second, labour market tightness, measured as the number of vacancies per job-seeker rather than the number of vacancies per unemployed, is shown to be relevant to the LS of workers. Third, labour market matching efficiency affects the LS of workers differently when they are less satisfied with their job and in temporary employment. Originality/value - No evidence of this relationship has been documented before. Our results give support to government interventions aimed at activating demand for labour, improving the matching of job-seekers to vacant jobs and reducing information frictions by supporting match-making technologies.

Suggested Citation

  • Pablo de Pedraza & Martin Guzi & Kea Tijdens, 2020. "Life satisfaction of employees, labour market tightness and matching efficiency," International Journal of Manpower, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 42(3), pages 341-355, July.
    • Handle: RePEc:eme:ijmpps:ijm-07-2019-0323
    DOI: 10.1108/IJM-07-2019-0323
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    Cited by:

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    2. Jakub Prochazka & Shubham Pandey & Ondrej Castek & Mojtaba Firouzjaeiangalougah, 2024. "Replication of Changing Hearts and Minds? Why Media Messages Designed to Foster Empathy Often Fail (Gubler et al., 2022)," MUNI ECON Working Papers 2024-02, Masaryk University, revised Aug 2024.
    3. Ana Suárez Álvarez & María R. Vicente, 2023. "Going “beyond the GDP” in the digital economy: exploring the relationship between internet use and well-being in Spain," Palgrave Communications, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 10(1), pages 1-10, December.
    4. Pablo de Pedraza & Martin Guzi & Kea Tijdens, 2020. "Life Dissatisfaction and Anxiety in COVID-19 pandemic," MUNI ECON Working Papers 2020-03, Masaryk University, revised Feb 2023.
    5. Luca Fumarco & Benjamin Harrell & Patrick Button & David Schwegman & E Dils, 2020. "Gender Identity, Race, and Ethnicity-based Discrimination in Access to Mental Health Care: Evidence from an Audit Correspondence Field Experiment," NBER Working Papers 28164, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    6. Benjamin Harrell & Luca Fumarco & Patrick Button & David J. Schwegman & Kyla Denwood, 2023. "The Impact of COVID-19 on Access to Mental Health Care Services," AEA Papers and Proceedings, American Economic Association, vol. 113, pages 420-422, May.
    7. Tim Friedhoff & Cam-Duc Au & Philippe Krahnhof, 2023. "Analysis of the Impact of Orthogonalized Brent Oil Price Shocks on the Returns of Dependent Industries in Times of the Russian War," MUNI ECON Working Papers 2023-04, Masaryk University.
    8. Robson Morgan & Kelsey J. O’Connor, 2022. "Labor Market Policy and Subjective Well-Being During the Great Recession," Journal of Happiness Studies, Springer, vol. 23(2), pages 391-422, February.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Life satisfaction; Matching efficiency; Tightness; Unemployment; E24; J21;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • E24 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Consumption, Saving, Production, Employment, and Investment - - - Employment; Unemployment; Wages; Intergenerational Income Distribution; Aggregate Human Capital; Aggregate Labor Productivity
    • J21 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Labor Force and Employment, Size, and Structure

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