Note: Maite Blázquez acknowledges the financial support provided by the Spanish Ministry of Education through grant ECO2008-04813 (Plan Nacional I+D+I, 2008–2011). We thank seminar participants at the IWAEE, Singapore Economic Review and Simposio de la Asociación Española de Economía held in 2011. Santiago Budría acknowledges the financial support provided by the Spanish Ministry of Education through grant ECO2008-04321 and by the Junta de Andalucía through grant P07-SEJ-03261.
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Original Article
Deprivation and Subjective Well-Being: Evidence from Panel Data
Article first published online: 29 NOV 2012
DOI: 10.1111/roiw.12003
© 2012 International Association for Research in Income and Wealth
Issue
Review of Income and Wealth
Early View (Online Version of Record published before inclusion in an issue)
Additional Information
How to Cite
Cuesta, M. B. and Budría, S. (2012), Deprivation and Subjective Well-Being: Evidence from Panel Data. Review of Income and Wealth. doi: 10.1111/roiw.12003
Publication History
- Article first published online: 29 NOV 2012
Funded by
- Spanish Ministry of Education. Grant Numbers: ECO2008-04813, ECO2008-04321
- Junta de Andalucía. Grant Number: P07-SEJ-03261
Keywords:
- D63;
- I31
- deprivation;
- personality traits;
- random effects model;
- subjective well-being
This paper uses data from the 2000–08 waves of the German Socio-Economic Panel dataset (SOEP) to assess the impact of deprivation in various life domains upon individual well-being. Unobserved heterogeneity is controlled for by means of a random effects model extended to include a Mundlak term and explicit controls for the respondents' personality traits. The paper shows that people care about social comparison information in a number of domains, not just income. Using an equivalent income approach, the estimates suggest that a one standard deviation deterioration of the individual position in the income distribution is as important as a 33.5 percent decrease in own income. This monetary equivalent amounts to an income variation of between 25 and 43 percent when it comes to other deprivation domains, including durables, accommodation, health, and social relations. These results recommend that in the fight against deprivation more emphasis should be directed to these non-monetary relevant dimensions.