Topic Well-being

Nearly every fifth person in Germany feels lonely some of the time

Perceived Climate Impacts and Environmental Action

This study explores the responsiveness of climate policy preferences and individual behaviors to variations in beliefs about climate change impacts. Using an information provision experiment embedded within the German Socio-Economic Panel (SOEP), we analyze how updated beliefs influence pro-environmental engagement and whether these effects persist over time. By linking experimental data with rich...

Life Events and Life Satisfaction: Estimating Effects of Multiple Life Events in Combined Models

How do life events affect life satisfaction? Previous studies focused on a single event or separate analyses of several events. However, life events are often grouped non-randomly over the lifespan, occur in close succession, and are causally linked, raising the question of how to best analyze them jointly. Here, we used representative German data (SOEP; N = 40,121individuals; n = 41,402 event occurrences) ...

Cognitive Abilities and Economic Preferences: Evidence from Genetic and Behavioral Data

An influential body of economic literature has consistently shown strong associations between cognitive abilities and economic preferences. However, much of this research has overlooked the potential endogeneity of cognitive abilities - an oversight given that these abilities stem from a series of investment decisions influenced by factors likely correlated with economic preferences. To address...

DENeB - Development Economics Seminar Series

The DENeB seminar series gives invited senior researchers the opportunity to present and discuss their current work and is open to everyone interested in ongoing research in development economics. The Development Economics Network Berlin (DENeB) is a network for early career researchers in development economics. The network’s main purpose is to be a platform for knowledge exchange related to...

Life satisfaction has increased in many areas

The Welfare Consequences Of Learning Where One Stands: Evidence from a Large Field Experiment

The seminar will share two connected papers, one newer, and in more need of feedback, than the other. The premise of both is the received wisdom that income rank matters for welfare, in particular life satisfaction. In most discussions, however, income comparisons are limited to the national population and evidence is correlational. In the first paper, we report on an experiment that randomized...

Reversing the Reversal? A Systematic Reassessment and Meta-Analysis of Wellbeing Research

Fierce debate over the feasibility of cardinally measuring utility – or ‘wellbeing’ – with surveys has recently resurfaced. Several prominent papers claimed that when interpreting survey data as strictly ordinal, most of the literature’s results are easily reversed. We systematically assess this claim. To do so, we replicate the universe of wellbeing research published in top economics journals...

Socioeconomic Inequalities in Pandemic-induced Psychosocial Stress in Different Life Domains among the Working-Age Population

Background Psychosocial stress is considered a risk factor for physical and mental ill-health. Evidence on socioeconomic inequalities with regard to the psychosocial consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic in Germany is still limited. We aimed to investigate how pandemic-induced psychosocial stress (PIPS) in different life domains differed between socioeconomic groups.MethodsData came from the German ...

Income, Work, and Health Satisfaction Differ Primarily by Household Income, Age, and Parental Status

Subjective well-being is essential for both quality of life and a healthy society. Studies have shown that satisfied people have better relationships, are more productive, and have a longer life expectancy. General life satisfaction is being discussed as an alternative measure of prosperity beyond GDP. Thus, findings on this topic are relevant for both the scientific community as well as policymakers. ...