Happiness among Europeans in Times of Economic Recession

• In Event: 581 - Regular Session. Cross-National Sociology

Abstract

The paper assesses the dynamics of self-reported happiness in 26 European countries during the Great Recession and the so-called sovereign debt crisis using all waves of the European Social Survey - including the newly released sixth round to obtain a pooled dataset spanning from 2002 to 2012. The analysis emphasizes the condition of young individuals during the recession - arguably one of the most affected groups. An important innovation is that we exploit administrative information of the European Social Survey to reconstruct quarterly happiness series that is held up against macroeconomic information. We demonstrate that – although the overall level of subjective wellbeing has been resilient throughout the Great Recession – there is substantial heterogeneity across time and societies. With these empirical patterns, we make a critical assessment of the relevant theories aimed at explaining the effect of macro deprivation on individual wellbeing.

Authors

• Arnstein Aassve, Bocconi University

• Francesco C. Billari, University of Oxford

• Nicolo Cavalli, La Sapienza University