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Cited by 348Psychological Well-being and Life SatisfactionEmployment and Welfare StudiesRecreation, Leisure, Wilderness Management

Dissatisfied with Life but Having a Good Day: Time‐use and Well‐being of the Unemployed

Knabe, Andreas, Rätzel, Steffen, Schöb, Ronnie, Weimann, Joachim·2010·The Economic Journal
DOI 10.1111/j.1468-0297.2009.02347.x
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Abstract

We apply the Day Reconstruction Method to compare unemployed and employed people with respect to their subjective assessment of emotional affects, differences in the composition and duration of activities during the course of a day and their self‐reported life satisfaction. Employed persons are more satisfied with their life than the unemployed and report more positive feelings when engaged in similar activities. Weighting these activities with their duration shows, however, that average experienced utility does not differ between the two groups. Although the unemployed feel sadder when engaged in similar activities, they can compensate this by using the time the employed are at work in more enjoyable ways.

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  • DRM data on affect have generally found weak associations between SWB and these events.

    “DRM data on affect have generally found weak associations between SWB and these events (Kahneman et al., 2004;Knabe et al., 2010).”

    From Measuring Subjective Wellbeing: Recommendations on Measures for use by National Governments (2012) · cites this paper as Knabe et al., 2010

    The Discussion (p. 27) reports that this DRM study found no significant difference in day-to-day experienced well-being between employed and unemployed people, despite a difference in life satisfaction. That supports a weak association for unemployment, but the paper does not establish that DRM studies have generally found weak associations with the unspecified events in the claim. (LLM, conf=0.83)

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Research works printed but not linked: 22

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  12. Kahneman, D, P. P. Wakker, and R. Sarin (1997): 'Back to Bentham? Explorations of Experienced Utility', The Quarterly Journal of Economics 112, 375-405.
  13. Kahneman, D. (1999): 'Objective Happiness', in: D. Kahneman, E. Diener and N. Schwarz (eds.): Well-Being. The Foundations of Hedonic Psychology, Russsel Sage Foundation New York, 3-25.
  14. Kahneman, D., A. B. Krueger, D. Schkade, N. Schwarz and A. Stone (2004b): 'Toward National Well-Being Accounts', American Economic Review 94, 429-434.
  15. Kahneman, D., A. B. Krueger, D. A. Schkade, N. Schwarz and A. A. Stone (2004c): The Day Reconstruction Method (DRM). Instrument Documentation , Supporting Online Material for Kahneman et al. (2004a), http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/data/306/5702/1776/DC1/1.
  16. Kahneman, D. and A. B. Krueger (2006): 'Developments in the Measurement of Subjective Well-Being', Journal of Economic Perspectives 20, 3-24.
  17. Kahneman, D. and R. H. Thaler (2006): 'Anomalies: Utility maximization and experienced utility', Journal of Economic Perspectives 20, 221-234.
  18. Oswald, A., and N. Powdthavee (2008): 'Does happiness adapt? A longitudinal study of disability with implications for economists and judges', Journal of Public Economics 92, 1061-1077.
  19. Shields, M., S. Wheatley Price, and M. Wooden (2008): 'Life Satisfaction and the Economic and Social Characteristics of Neighbourhoods', forthcoming in Journal of Population Economics .
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  21. Van Praag, B. M. S. and Ferrer-i-Carbonell, A. (2004). Happiness Quantified. A Satisfaction Calculus Approach, Oxford University Press: Oxford.
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Authors
Knabe, A., Rätzel, S., Schöb, R., & Weimann, J.
Affiliations
Freie Universität Berlin (DE)
ORCID
Venue
The Economic Journal
Publisher
Oxford University Press (OUP)
Published
2010-09-01
Volume
120
Issue
547
Pages
867-889
ISSN
  • 0013-0133 (ISSN-L)
  • 1468-0297
DOI
10.1111/j.1468-0297.2009.02347.x
OpenAlex
W2144569657
Cited by
348
References
7
Citations by year
2026: 11 · 2025: 21 · 2024: 16 · 2023: 20 · 2022: 27 · 2021: 30 · 2020: 24 · 2019: 13 · 2018: 18 · 2017: 17 · 2016: 19 · 2015: 24 · 2014: 23 · 2013: 17 · 2012: 15
FWCI
27.55
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
closed
Licence
doi.wiley.com/10.1002/tdm_license_1.1 (tdm, 1826 d)
Locations
  • The Economic Journal (publishedVersion)
  • RePEc: Research Papers in Economics (submittedVersion)
  • Econstor (Econstor) (submittedVersion)
Topics
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Social Psychology › Psychological Well-being and Life Satisfaction
  • Health Sciences › Health Professions › General Health Professions › Employment and Welfare Studies
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Social Psychology › Recreation, Leisure, Wilderness Management
Keywords
unemployment, life satisfaction, subjective well-being, time use, Day Reconstruction Method, emotional experience, experienced utility, daily activities

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