Unemployed individuals who do not suffer from material deprivation may not experience a life satisfaction decrease and may even experience a life satisfaction increase

A Pecuniary Explanation for the Heterogeneous Effects of Unemployment on Happiness. Jianbo Luo. Journal of Happiness Studies, October 30 2019. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10902-019-00198-4

Abstract: Why unemployment has heterogeneous effects on subjective well-being remains a hot topic. Using German Socio-Economic Panel data, this paper finds significant heterogeneity using different material deprivation measures. Unemployed individuals who do not suffer from material deprivation may not experience a life satisfaction decrease and may even experience a life satisfaction increase. Policy implications for taxation and unemployment insurance are discussed.

Keywords Unemployment Subjective well-being Heterogeneity Material deprivation Minimum required income