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Satisfaction with Life, Happiness, and Inequality – a Pseudo-Panel Study

Author

Listed:
  • Jensen, Søren

    (VIVE - The Danish Centre for Applied Social Science)

  • Pedersen, Peder J.

    (Aarhus University)

Abstract

The hypothesis tested in this paper is whether the increasing inequality in recent years has had a significant impact on well-being among the population in Denmark. After a survey of the literature we use attitude variables from the European Social Survey in a pseudo-panel setting covering the years 2002 – 2014. We cover respondents from Denmark and supplement the survey data with variables from administrative registers. We find a significant effect from the increasing Gini coefficient since 2002.

Suggested Citation

  • Jensen, Søren & Pedersen, Peder J., 2020. "Satisfaction with Life, Happiness, and Inequality – a Pseudo-Panel Study," IZA Discussion Papers 12972, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    • Handle: RePEc:iza:izadps:dp12972
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    12. Helliwell, John F., 2003. "How's life? Combining individual and national variables to explain subjective well-being," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 20(2), pages 331-360, March.
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    pseudo-panel; well-being; inequality;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • D31 - Microeconomics - - Distribution - - - Personal Income and Wealth Distribution
    • H53 - Public Economics - - National Government Expenditures and Related Policies - - - Government Expenditures and Welfare Programs
    • I31 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Welfare, Well-Being, and Poverty - - - General Welfare, Well-Being

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