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Social Contacts, Unemployment, and Experienced Well-Being. Evidence from Time-Use Data

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  • Thi Truong An Hoang
  • Andreas Knabe

Abstract

We use the UK Time-Use Survey 2014/15 to analyze how differences in the frequency and intensity of social contacts contribute to the gap in experienced well-being between employed and unemployed persons. We observe that people generally enjoy being with others more than being alone. The unemployed generally feel worse than the employed when engaging in the same kind of activities, partly because they are more often alone. The unemployed can replace lost work contacts only partially with private contacts. In terms of experienced well-being, however, the small increase in time spent with family and friends (which people enjoy a lot) offsets the loss of work contacts (which people generally enjoy only little). Hence, we do not find that the differences in the social-contact composition between the employed and the unemployed contribute to the difference in their experienced well-being.

Suggested Citation

  • Thi Truong An Hoang & Andreas Knabe, 2022. "Social Contacts, Unemployment, and Experienced Well-Being. Evidence from Time-Use Data," CESifo Working Paper Series 9953, CESifo.
    • Handle: RePEc:ces:ceswps:_9953
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    unemployment; happiness; experienced well-being; time use; social contact; decomposition;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • I31 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Welfare, Well-Being, and Poverty - - - General Welfare, Well-Being
    • D91 - Microeconomics - - Micro-Based Behavioral Economics - - - Role and Effects of Psychological, Emotional, Social, and Cognitive Factors on Decision Making
    • J60 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Mobility, Unemployment, Vacancies, and Immigrant Workers - - - General
    • J22 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Time Allocation and Labor Supply

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