The Impact of Wealth on Subjective Well-Being: A Comparison of Three Welfare-State Regimes

This study provides new insight on subjective well-being (hereafter SWB) and its association with individuals’ objective economic standing. In particular, we are interested in how one’s relative position in the distribution of wealth influences his or her general satisfaction with life (hereafter GLS), representing the cognitive and most stable dimension of SWB. Most studies on the relationship between economic standing and SWB have used income as an indicator of economic standing. Yet, income seems to account for only a small part of the variation in SWB (e.g. Diener, Sandvik, Seidlitz & Diener 1993). In addition, income is restricted to a certain time interval (income per week, per month, or per year) and, to periods of labor market activity. Recent studies thus argue that other measures of economic standing such as socioeconomic status, deprivation, and wealth, might be more useful for understanding its relationship with SWB (e.g. Christoph 2010). Wealth is a stock Graph accumulated throughout a person’s life course. Additionally, in contrast to earned income, which requires time, effort, and working ability, wealth offers access to capital and goods independent of individual investment and ability, for example, through intergenerational transfers (Elmelech 2008). Wealth may also be a better indicator of an individual‘s long-term consumption potential (Spilerman 2000). Considering the unique properties of wealth, we see it fit to measure the consequences of economic standing to SWB, over and above the consequences income may have on it. A second contribution of this study is the focus it places on macro-level factors, and specifically, state-level welfare systems. The relevance of the welfare-state system to the relation between wealth and SWB is best explained through the concept of decommodification, referring to the extent to which citizens in a country are economically independent from the market through the provision of social benefits. These benefits can be understood as a cushion against the consequences of shortage of financial resources (Pacek & Radcliff 2008). Because the extent to which these benefits are provided by the welfare-state strongly differs between the three regimes, we predict that the association between wealth and SWB will also differ

Wealth inequality in Europe and the delusive egalitarianism of Scandinavian countries

Past sociological inequality research focused on (labor) market outcomes, while neglecting the even more important role of wealth. In our study we investigate the distribution of wealth among the elderly across Europe within the framework of Esping-Andersen’s typology of welfare states. Using SHARE data, our analyses suggest (1) that there is strong variation in the distribution of wealth between European countries, and (2) that patterns of wealth inequality differ strongly from patterns of income inequality. Surprisingly high levels of wealth disparity were found in the social democratic welfare regimes commonly known as very egalitarian societies. We conclude that Esping-Andersen’s scheme requires reconsideration because it is based on a one-sided understanding of social stratification not accounting for the central role of wealth in the stratification process.Inequality, wealth, net worth, income, SHARE, stratification, welfare state, Europe

Erwerbseintritt und "Timing" der Ehe: eine längsschnittliche Untersuchung der Bedeutung des Erwerbseintritts von Frauen für den Zeitpunkt der ersten Eheschließung

Im Mittelpunkt der Arbeit steht die Frage, welchen Effekt der Einstieg in das Erwerbsleben auf das "Timing" der Eheschließung hat. Konkret sucht sie nach Antworten auf drei Fragestellungen: (1) Ist der Eintritt in das Erwerbsleben sowohl bei Männern, als auch bei Frauen mit einer erhöhten Heiratsneigung verbunden? (2) Ist die Heiratsneigung der Frau noch immer eine Funktion der ökonomischen Charakteristika des Mannes oder hat der Eintritt ins Erwerbsleben der Frauen mittlerweile einen eigenständigen Einfluss auf das "Timing" der Ehe? (3) Inwiefern unterscheiden sich west- und ostdeutsche Frauen bezüglich der Bedeutung des Erwerbseintritts für das "Timing" der ersten Eheschließung

Wealth as a Distinct Dimension of Social Inequality

The main research objective of my thesis is to contribute to a broader understanding of social inequality by going beyond inequalities solely derived from the labor market and find theoretical arguments as well as empirical evidence for the establishment of wealth as a distinct dimension of social stratification and, more importantly, of social inequality. With social stratification, I am referring to a society’s ranking of categories of individuals into a hierarchy of social positions. Social stratification becomes social inequality if access to these positions is unequal and if these positions are systematically related to advantageous or disadvantageous conditions of acting and living. In the course of my thesis, I will show that both these conditions apply to wealth: first, access is unequal and second, being of higher (lower) wealth is related to advantageous (disadvantageous) conditions of living. My thesis consists of five empirical studies that are knotted together by the common conception of wealth as a distinct dimension of social inequality. In order to find empirical support for this argument, in each study, I will approach the topic of wealth, or wealth inequality, from different perspectives. All studies represent theory-driven empirical analysis and are designed as international comparative studies

National patterns of income and wealth inequality

The aim of this article is to show that wealth must be treated as a distinct dimension of social stratification alongside income. In a first step, we explain why social stratification researchers have largely overlooked wealth in the past and present a detailed definition of wealth by differentiating it from income. In the empirical part of the article, we analyze the distribution of wealth across 18 countries, and we describe and compare national patterns of wealth inequality to those of income inequality making use of different data sources. Our results show – first – that there is strong variation in the distribution of wealth between these 18 countries, and – second – that levels of wealth inequality significantly differ from levels of income inequality in about half of the countries analyzed. Surprisingly high levels of wealth inequality we find in Sweden and Denmark, two countries widely considered being highly egalitarian societies. Conversely, the Southern European countries – where income inequality is relatively high – exhibit comparatively low levels of wealth inequality

Erwerbseinstieg beschleunigt Erstheirat von Frauen auch in den neuen Bundesländern: ein Kohorten-Vergleich mit Daten des Nationalen Bildungspanels

"Ökonomischer Unabhängigkeit, die insbesondere durch die Aufnahme einer ersten Erwerbstätigkeit im Lebensverlauf markiert wird, kommt auch für Prozesse der Familienbildung eine wichtige Rolle zu. Männer sind häufig nicht mehr die Alleinversorger der Familie. Hingegen gewinnt die Erwerbstätigkeit der Frau durch Veränderungen auf dem Arbeitsmarkt sowie zunehmende Bildungs- und Erwerbsbeteiligung an Bedeutung. Es kann deshalb erwartet werden, dass die Aufnahme einer Erwerbstätigkeit bei Frauen den Zeitpunkt der ersten Eheschließung - zumindest unter marktwirtschaftlichen Bedingungen - beeinflusst. Ziel des vorliegenden Beitrages ist es, diese Annahme empirisch für Deutschland zu überprüfen unter besonderer Berücksichtigung der speziellen gesellschaftlichen Kontexte der ehemaligen DDR und BRD. Dafür vergleichen wir die Erwerbs- und Heiratsverläufe von zwischen 1944 und 1988 geborenen ost- und westdeutschen Frauen über fünf Geburtskohorten." (Autorenreferat

Wealth inequality in Europe and the delusive egalitarianism of Scandinavian countries

Past sociological inequality research focused on (labor) market outcomes, while neglecting the even more important role of wealth. In our study we investigate the distribution of wealth among the elderly across Europe within the framework of Esping-Andersen’s typology of welfare states. Using SHARE data, our analyses suggest (1) that there is strong variation in the distribution of wealth between European countries, and (2) that patterns of wealth inequality differ strongly from patterns of income inequality. Surprisingly high levels of wealth disparity were found in the social democratic welfare regimes commonly known as very egalitarian societies. We conclude that Esping-Andersen’s scheme requires reconsideration because it is based on a one-sided understanding of social stratification not accounting for the central role of wealth in the stratification process

Zwei Dimensionen der Wohneigentumsungleichheit in EuropaSind hohe Wohneigentumsquoten ein Indiz für niedrige Immobilienwerte?

Exploring inequalities in home ownership as an important component of household wealth contributes to the understanding of social stratification in modern societies. We argue that inequalities in housing are not only manifested by differential access to home ownership, but also by differences in housing values, a somewhat neglected aspect in research hitherto. Applying data from the “Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe” (SHARE), we compare home ownership rates and housing values between 13 European countries. Our results suggest that housing inequality is indeed a two-dimensional phenomenon. Most surprisingly, migration status has a negative impact on the probability of home ownership in European countries, but not on the mean housing value. In addition, we exploratively study the relationship between these two dimensions of housing inequality. Our analyses show a negative though not significant relationship between home ownership rates and housing values.Untersuchungen von Ungleichheiten im Wohneigentum – als zentralem Element des Haushaltsvermögens – liefern Erkenntnisse über die soziale Stratifikation moderner Gesellschaften. Wir argumentieren, dass sich Ungleichheiten im Wohnen nicht nur durch unterschiedlichen Zugang zu Wohneigentum, sondern auch durch Unterschiede im Wert der Immobilien manifestieren – ein Aspekt, der in der Forschung bisher eher vernachlässigt wurde. Unter Verwendung der Daten des Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe (SHARE) führen wir einen Vergleich der Wohneigentumsquoten und -werte zwischen 13 europäischen Ländern durch. Unsere Ergebnisse lassen darauf schließen, dass die Ungleichheit im Bereich Wohnen tatsächlich ein zweidimensionales Phänomen darstellt. Überraschend ist das Ergebnis, dass sich ein Migrationshintergrund in den europäischen Ländern zwar negativ auf die Wahrscheinlichkeit des Besitzes von Wohneigentum auswirkt, nicht aber auf den durchschnittlichen Wert des Wohneigentums. Abschließend führen wir eine explorative Untersuchung des Zusammenhangs zwischen diesen beiden Dimensionen der Wohneigentumsungleichheit durch. Unsere Analysen zeigen einen negativen, wenngleich nicht signifikanten Zusammenhang zwischen Wohneigentumsquoten und Wohneigentumswerten

Wealth Inequality in Europe and the Delusive Egalitarianism of Scandinavian Countries

Abstract Past social inequality research mainly focused on labor market processes and income distributions. We argue that in order to achieve a more profound picture of economic well-being analyzing wealth and not income seems to be more adequate because income is only one dimension to explain individuals' (economic) well-being. In our study we are investigating the distribution of wealth among the elderly across Europe drawing on Esping-Andersen's typology of welfare states. Our analyses based on data from the SHARE project suggest (1) a strong variation in the wealth distribution between European countries, an

The impact of wealth on subjective well-being : A comparison of three welfare-state regimes

This paper provides new insights into the association between economic standing and subjective well-being (SWB) among aging individuals in three industrialized countries: Germany, Israel, and Sweden. Specifically, we compare the effects of wealth, in line with the growing consensus that wealth is an important determinant of economic standing alongside income, on SWB across three welfare-state regimes: conservative (Germany), liberal (Israel), and social-democratic (Sweden). Drawing on needs theory, we hypothesize that individuals of poor wealth would report lower levels of SWB in all countries. We expect, however, the association between poor wealth and SWB to be stronger in the liberal system (Israel) and weaker in the conservative system (Germany) with the weakest effect found in the social-democratic system (Sweden) due to differences in the extent of social benefits each welfare-state regime provides its residents. To test our hypotheses, we utilize data from the Survey of Health, Aging and Retirement in Europe(SHARE1). Results indicate that income and wealth explain a greater part of the variance in SWB when taken together. We find a ‘poor penalty’ on SWB in Germany and Israel while in Sweden wealth has no impact on SWB. Finally, when controlling for subjective economic hardship (needs), the negative effect of poor wealth on SWB disappears in Germany, but maintains significance in Israel, suggesting that needs theory alone cannot explain the poor penalty in Israel. In conclusion, our findings suggest that the welfare-state has an impact on the wealth–SWB relation and that the mechanisms that underlie this relation operate differently in Germany and Israel