IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/spr/jhappi/v21y2020i7d10.1007_s10902-019-00184-w.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

The Role of Unemployment and Job Insecurity for the Well-Being of Young Europeans: Social Inequality as a Macro-Level Moderator

Author

Listed:
  • Kadri Taht

    (Tallinn University)

  • Despoina Xanthopoulou

    (School of Psychology, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki)

  • Lia Figgou

    (School of Psychology, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki)

  • Marialena Kostouli

    (School of Psychology, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki)

  • Marge Unt

    (Tallinn University)

Abstract

The aim of the current paper was to investigate the moderating role of both objective and subjective country-level social (income) inequality on the relationship between employment status and well-being. The focus was on young Europeans (aged 16–29) and a multilevel perspective with individuals nested within 28 countries was adopted. Based on conservation of resources theory, the central hypothesis was that labor market (LM) insecurity will be particularly detrimental for young Europeans’ well-being in countries characterized by high (vs. low) inequality. The results showed that unfavorable LM positions indeed impair young Europeans cognitive (i.e., life satisfaction) and affective (i.e., negative affect) well-being. We found support for the moderating role of both objective (i.e. the income share held by the lowest 10% of the country) and perceived social inequality on the relationship between employment status and life satisfaction. Namely, the negative relationship between unfavorable LM conditions (and particularly job insecurity) and youth well-being tended to be weaker or nonexistent in more equal societies. Our findings highlight the important role of social (income) inequality, both objective and perceived, in understanding the conditions under which unemployment and job insecurity may be particularly detrimental for young individuals’ well-being.

Suggested Citation

  • Kadri Taht & Despoina Xanthopoulou & Lia Figgou & Marialena Kostouli & Marge Unt, 2020. "The Role of Unemployment and Job Insecurity for the Well-Being of Young Europeans: Social Inequality as a Macro-Level Moderator," Journal of Happiness Studies, Springer, vol. 21(7), pages 2355-2375, October.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:jhappi:v:21:y:2020:i:7:d:10.1007_s10902-019-00184-w
    DOI: 10.1007/s10902-019-00184-w
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://link.springer.com/10.1007/s10902-019-00184-w
    File Function: Abstract
    Download Restriction: Access to the full text of the articles in this series is restricted.
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1007/s10902-019-00184-w?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Bjørnskov, Christian & Dreher, Axel & Fischer, Justina A.V. & Schnellenbach, Jan & Gehring, Kai, 2013. "Inequality and happiness: When perceived social mobility and economic reality do not match," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 91(C), pages 75-92.
    2. Bruno S. Frey, 2018. "Economics of Happiness," SpringerBriefs in Economics, Springer, number 978-3-319-75807-7, October.
    3. Hans-Werner Sinn, 1996. "Social insurance, incentives and risk taking," International Tax and Public Finance, Springer;International Institute of Public Finance, vol. 3(3), pages 259-280, July.
    4. Alesina, Alberto & Di Tella, Rafael & MacCulloch, Robert, 2004. "Inequality and happiness: are Europeans and Americans different?," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 88(9-10), pages 2009-2042, August.
    5. Ernst Fehr & Klaus M. Schmidt, 1999. "A Theory of Fairness, Competition, and Cooperation," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 114(3), pages 817-868.
    6. Ruud Muffels & Didier Fouarge, 2004. "The Role of European Welfare States in Explaining Resources Deprivation," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 68(3), pages 299-330, September.
    7. Bruce Headey & Jonathan Kelley & Alex Wearing, 1993. "Dimensions of mental health: Life satisfaction, positive affect, anxiety and depression," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 29(1), pages 63-82, May.
    8. Jan Eichhorn, 2014. "The (Non-) Effect of Unemployment Benefits: Variations in the Effect of Unemployment on Life-Satisfaction Between EU Countries," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 119(1), pages 389-404, October.
    9. Senik, Claudia, 2004. "When information dominates comparison: Learning from Russian subjective panel data," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 88(9-10), pages 2099-2123, August.
    10. Vivian Valdmanis, 2015. "Factors Affecting Well-Being at the State Level in the United States," Journal of Happiness Studies, Springer, vol. 16(4), pages 985-997, August.
    11. Jesper Rözer & Gerbert Kraaykamp, 2013. "Income Inequality and Subjective Well-being: A Cross-National Study on the Conditional Effects of Individual and National Characteristics," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 113(3), pages 1009-1023, September.
    12. Jonas Voßemer & Michael Gebel & Kadri Täht & Marge Unt & Björn Högberg & Mattias Strandh, 2018. "The Effects of Unemployment and Insecure Jobs on Well-Being and Health: The Moderating Role of Labor Market Policies," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 138(3), pages 1229-1257, August.
    13. Ed Diener & Ronald Inglehart & Louis Tay, 2013. "Theory and Validity of Life Satisfaction Scales," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 112(3), pages 497-527, July.
    14. Ravallion, Martin & Chen, Shaohua, 1997. "What Can New Survey Data Tell Us about Recent Changes in Distribution and Poverty?," The World Bank Economic Review, World Bank, vol. 11(2), pages 357-382, May.
    15. Frey, Bruno S & Stutzer, Alois, 2000. "Happiness, Economy and Institutions," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 110(466), pages 918-938, October.
    16. M. Pittau & Roberto Zelli & Andrew Gelman, 2010. "Economic Disparities and Life Satisfaction in European Regions," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 96(2), pages 339-361, April.
    17. Jan Eichhorn, 2013. "Unemployment Needs Context: How Societal Differences between Countries Moderate the Loss in Life-Satisfaction for the Unemployed," Journal of Happiness Studies, Springer, vol. 14(6), pages 1657-1680, December.
    18. Layte, Richard & Whelan, Christopher T., 2014. "Who Feels Inferior? A Test of the Status Anxiety Hypothesis of Social Inequalities in Health," Papers WP476, Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI).
    19. Fiori, Francesca & Rinesi, Francesca & Spizzichino, Daniele & Di Giorgio, Ginevra, 2016. "Employment insecurity and mental health during the economic recession: An analysis of the young adult labour force in Italy," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 153(C), pages 90-98.
    20. Ada Ferrer-i-Carbonell & Paul Frijters, 2004. "How Important is Methodology for the estimates of the determinants of Happiness?," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 114(497), pages 641-659, July.
    21. Bruno S. Frey, 2008. "Happiness: A Revolution in Economics," MIT Press Books, The MIT Press, edition 1, volume 1, number 0262062771, April.
    22. Takashi Oshio & Miki Kobayashi, 2011. "Area-Level Income Inequality and Individual Happiness: Evidence from Japan," Journal of Happiness Studies, Springer, vol. 12(4), pages 633-649, August.
    23. Badiâa Bouazzaoui & Etienne Mullet, 2002. "Employment and Family as Determinants of Anticipated Life Satisfaction: Contrasting Young Adults’ and Elderly People’s Viewpoints," Journal of Happiness Studies, Springer, vol. 3(2), pages 129-152, June.
    24. Ruut Veenhoven, 2005. "Apparent Quality-of-Life in Nations: How Long and Happy People Live," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 71(1), pages 61-86, March.
    25. Inmaculada Silla & Nele Cuyper & Francisco Gracia & José Peiró & Hans Witte, 2009. "Job Insecurity and Well-Being: Moderation by Employability," Journal of Happiness Studies, Springer, vol. 10(6), pages 739-751, December.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Matteo Picchio & Michele Ubaldi, 2024. "Unemployment and health: A meta‐analysis," Journal of Economic Surveys, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 38(4), pages 1437-1472, September.
    2. Gintare Malisauskaite & Olena Nizalova & Despoina Xanthopoulou, 2022. "Unemployment and Well-Being of Europeans Across the Life Cycle: The Role of Countries’ Macroeconomic Situation," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 162(3), pages 1387-1412, August.
    3. Micael Dahlen & Helge Thorbjørnsen, 2022. "Individuals’ Assessments of Their Own Wellbeing, Subjective Welfare, and Good Life: Four Exploratory Studies," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(19), pages 1-10, September.
    4. Marja Hult & Minna Kaarakainen & Deborah De Moortel, 2023. "Values, Health and Well-Being of Young Europeans Not in Employment, Education or Training (NEET)," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 20(6), pages 1-22, March.
    5. Lewańczyk, Agata Marta & Langham-Walsh, Eleanor & Edwards, Lisa & Branney, Peter & Walters, Elizabeth R. & Mitchell, Paul & Vaportzis, Eleftheria, 2023. "Back Onside protocol: A physical activity intervention to improve health outcomes in people who are unemployed or at risk of unemployment," Evaluation and Program Planning, Elsevier, vol. 97(C).
    6. Scheuring, Sonja & Voßemer, Jonas & Baranowska-Rataj, Anna & Tattarini, Giulia, 2021. "Does Fixed-Term Employment Have Spillover Effects on the Well-Being of Partners? A Panel Data Analysis for East and West Germany," EconStor Open Access Articles and Book Chapters, ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics, vol. 22(7), pages 3001-3021.
    7. Wen Fan & Yue Qian, 2023. "State Contexts, Job Insecurity, and Subjective Well-being in the Time of COVID-19," Journal of Happiness Studies, Springer, vol. 24(6), pages 2039-2059, August.
    8. Elvisa Drishti & Zamira Shkreli & Edvin Zhllima & Blendi Gerdoçi, 2023. "Deprivation, Social Mobility Considerations, and Life Satisfaction: A Comparative Study of 33 European Countries," Comparative Economic Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Association for Comparative Economic Studies, vol. 65(3), pages 511-550, September.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Adalgiso Amendola & Roberto Dell’Anno & Lavinia Parisi, 2019. "Happiness and inequality in European countries: is it a matter of peer group comparisons?," Economia Politica: Journal of Analytical and Institutional Economics, Springer;Fondazione Edison, vol. 36(2), pages 473-508, July.
    2. Jan Eichhorn, 2013. "Unemployment Needs Context: How Societal Differences between Countries Moderate the Loss in Life-Satisfaction for the Unemployed," Journal of Happiness Studies, Springer, vol. 14(6), pages 1657-1680, December.
    3. Antonio M. Espín & Dolores Moreno-Herrero & José Sánchez-Campillo & José A. Rodríguez Martín, 2018. "Do Envy and Compassion Pave the Way to Unhappiness? Social Preferences and Life Satisfaction in a Spanish City," Journal of Happiness Studies, Springer, vol. 19(2), pages 443-469, February.
    4. Bruno S. Frey & Anthony Gullo, 2021. "Does Sports Make People Happier, or Do Happy People More Sports?," Journal of Sports Economics, , vol. 22(4), pages 432-458, May.
    5. Hajdu, Tamás & Hajdu, Gábor, 2011. "A hasznosság és a relatív jövedelem kapcsolatának vizsgálata magyar adatok segítségével [Examining the relation of utility and relative income using Hungarian data]," Közgazdasági Szemle (Economic Review - monthly of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences), Közgazdasági Szemle Alapítvány (Economic Review Foundation), vol. 0(1), pages 56-73.
    6. Peng Wang & Jay Pan & Zhehui Luo, 2015. "The Impact of Income Inequality on Individual Happiness: Evidence from China," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 121(2), pages 413-435, April.
    7. Victoria Reyes-García & Arild Angelsen & Gerald E. Shively & Dmitrij Minkin, 2019. "Does Income Inequality Influence Subjective Wellbeing? Evidence from 21 Developing Countries," Journal of Happiness Studies, Springer, vol. 20(4), pages 1197-1215, April.
    8. AMENDOLA, Adalgiso & DELL'ANNO, Roberto & PARISI, Lavinia, 2015. "Happiness, Inequality and Relative Concerns in European Countries," CELPE Discussion Papers 136, CELPE - CEnter for Labor and Political Economics, University of Salerno, Italy.
    9. Gehring, Kai, 2013. "Who Benefits from Economic Freedom? Unraveling the Effect of Economic Freedom on Subjective Well-Being," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 50(C), pages 74-90.
    10. Hansen, Kerstin F. & Stutzer, Alois, 2022. "Parental unemployment, social insurance and child well-being across countries," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 204(C), pages 600-617.
    11. Jan Eichhorn, 2014. "The (Non-) Effect of Unemployment Benefits: Variations in the Effect of Unemployment on Life-Satisfaction Between EU Countries," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 119(1), pages 389-404, October.
    12. Conchita D'Ambrosio & Joachim R. Frick, 2012. "Individual Wellbeing in a Dynamic Perspective," Economica, London School of Economics and Political Science, vol. 79(314), pages 284-302, April.
    13. Dolan, Paul & Peasgood, Tessa & White, Mathew, 2008. "Do we really know what makes us happy A review of the economic literature on the factors associated with subjective well-being," Journal of Economic Psychology, Elsevier, vol. 29(1), pages 94-122, February.
    14. Elena Bárcena-Martín & Cortés Aguilar Alexandra & Ana I. Moro Egido, 2013. "The role of proximity and social comparisons on subjective well-being," ThE Papers 13/10, Department of Economic Theory and Economic History of the University of Granada..
    15. Vanesa Jorda & Borja López-Noval & José María Sarabia, 2019. "Distributional Dynamics of Life Satisfaction in Europe," Journal of Happiness Studies, Springer, vol. 20(4), pages 1015-1039, April.
    16. Clark, Andrew E. & D'Ambrosio, Conchita, 2014. "Attitudes to Income Inequality: Experimental and Survey Evidence," IZA Discussion Papers 8136, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    17. Justina A.V. Fischer & Benno Torgler, 2013. "Do Positional Concerns Destroy Social Capital: Evidence From 26 Countries," Economic Inquiry, Western Economic Association International, vol. 51(2), pages 1542-1565, April.
    18. M. D. R. Evans & Jonathan Kelley & S. M. C. Kelley & C. G. E. Kelley, 2019. "Rising Income Inequality During the Great Recession Had No Impact on Subjective Wellbeing in Europe, 2003–2012," Journal of Happiness Studies, Springer, vol. 20(1), pages 203-228, January.
    19. Nicola Pontarollo & Mercy Orellana & Joselin Segovia, 2020. "The Determinants of Subjective Well-Being in a Developing Country: The Ecuadorian Case," Journal of Happiness Studies, Springer, vol. 21(8), pages 3007-3035, December.
    20. Cojocaru, Alexandru, 2014. "Fairness and inequality tolerance: Evidence from the Life in Transition Survey," Journal of Comparative Economics, Elsevier, vol. 42(3), pages 590-608.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:spr:jhappi:v:21:y:2020:i:7:d:10.1007_s10902-019-00184-w. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Sonal Shukla or Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.springer.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.