An Exploration of the Determinants of the Subjective Well-being of Americans During the Great Recession

Aida Caldera Sánchezi ; Caroline Tassotii iOECDiiRAND Corporation

Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development

关键词: education;    quality of life;    time allocation and labour supply;    job satisfaction;    wage level and structure;    provision and effects of welfare programmes;   

DOI  :  https://doi.org/10.1787/5jxzc9p57lq3-en

学科分类：社会科学、人文和艺术（综合）

来源: OECD iLibrary

【 摘 要 】

This paper uses data from the American Life Panel to understand the determinants of well-being in the United States during the Great Recession. It investigates how various dimensions of subjective wellbeing reflected in the OECD Better Life Framework impact subjective well-being. The results show that income is an important determinant of subjective well-being. The unemployed and the disabled are significantly less satisfied with their lives than the working population, while the retired and the homemakers are more satisfied. The paper expands the existing evidence by showing that homeowners, registered voters and those with access to health insurance have higher levels of subjective well-being. Time spent walking or exercising is positively correlated with happiness, while working more than 50 hours per week or spending time on health-related activities is negatively correlated with subjective well-being, and higher levels of anxiety. This Working Paper relates to the 2014 OECD Economic Survey of United States (www.oecd.org/eco/surveys/economic-survey-united-states.htm)