66 research outputs found
Money and mental wellbeing : a longitudinal study of medium-sized lottery wins
One of the famous questions in social science is whether money makes people happy. We offer new evidence by using longitudinal data on a random sample of Britons who receive medium-sized lottery wins of between ÂŁ1000 and ÂŁ120,000 (that is, up to approximately US$ 200,000). When compared to two control groups â one with no wins and the other with small wins â these individuals go on eventually to exhibit significantly better psychological health. Two years after a lottery win, the average measured improvement in mental wellbeing is 1.4 GHQ points
Secularization, Union Formation Practices, and Marital Stability: Evidence from Italy
Descriptive statistics indicate that civil marriages and marriages preceded by premarital cohabitation are more unstable, i.e., more frequently followed by divorce. However, the literature has shown that selectivity plays an important role in the relationship between premarital cohabitation and union dissolution. We do not have evidence to date regarding the selectivity in the effect of civil marriage. The Italian case appears particularly interesting given the recent diffusion of premarital cohabitation and civil marriage. Using micro-level data from a national-level representative survey conducted in 2003, we develop a multiprocess model that allows unobserved heterogeneity to be correlated across the three decisions (premarital cohabitation, civil marriage, and divorce). Our results show that selectivity is the main factor that explains the higher divorce rates among those who experience premarital cohabitation and a civil marriage. Net of selectivity, the causal effect on union dissolution disappears
Flexible Working in the UK and its Impact on Couples' Time Coordination
The ability to combine work with quality time together as a family is at the heart of the
concept of work-life balance. Using previously unexploited data on couples work
schedules we investigate the effect of flexible working on couples coordination of their
daily work schedules in the UK. We consider three distinct dimensions of flexible
working: flexibility of daily start and finish times (flexitime), flexibility of work times
over the year (annualized hours), and generalized control of working hours. We show
that having flexitime at work increases a couples amount of coordination of their daily
work schedules by a half to one hour, which is double the margin of adjustment enjoyed
by couples with no flexitime. The impact is driven by couples with children. In contrast
to flexitime, the other two forms of flexible working do not seem to increase
synchronous time. Our results suggest that having flexitime plays an important role in
relaxing the work scheduling constraints faced by families with young children, and that
effective flexible working time arrangements are those that increase the workers and
not the employers flexibility
The price of mobility
This paper addresses the question concerning the price of geographic mobility in various labour market and migration scenarios. Pivotal points are expected mobility premiums which are sufficient to tip the scales in favour of moving to a geographically distinct location. These premiums are first derived within a theoretical model, accounting not only for location-specific amenity levels or labour market conditions, but also for heterogeneous personality traits and preferences. Derived hypotheses demonstrate thatâin presence of heterogeneous psychic costs or adjustment capabilitiesâexpected mobility premiums can remain distinctly positive even in an unemployment scenario. Furthermore, adjustment capabilities are to a large extent related to earlier mobility experiences, implying that labour mobility is partially learnable
Multiple job-holding among male workers in Greece
This paper studies the incidence of multiple job-holding in Greece and contributes to the literature by examining its determinants, its variance across different regions and the effect of the business cycle on its occurrence. The empirical analysis highlights the importance of both pecuniary and non-pecuniary motives behind multiple job-holding, and reveals significant variations in its incidence across regions, with areas that have a large primary sector having higher multiple job-holding rates. Finally, multiple job-holding is found to be pro-cyclical, with the probability of holding a second job estimated to increase during economic expansions
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