WELL-BEING INEQUALITY AND THE ECONOMIC CRISIS: EVIDENCE FROM LIFE IN TRANSITION SURVEYS IN EASTERN EUROPE Cover Image

WELL-BEING INEQUALITY AND THE ECONOMIC CRISIS: EVIDENCE FROM LIFE IN TRANSITION SURVEYS IN EASTERN EUROPE
WELL-BEING INEQUALITY AND THE ECONOMIC CRISIS: EVIDENCE FROM LIFE IN TRANSITION SURVEYS IN EASTERN EUROPE

Author(s): Livia Baciu, Alina Botezat
Subject(s): Economy
Published by: Editura Universităţii »Alexandru Ioan Cuza« din Iaşi
Keywords: well-being inequality; economic crisis; income inequality; happiness

Summary/Abstract: This paper examines the relationship between well-being inequality and the economic crisis for countries from Central and Eastern Europe. Using data from Life in Transition Surveys waves 2006 and 2010, we assess the level of happiness gap by computing the instrument-effect-corrected standard deviation. Our results indicate that the dispersion in self-reported well-being levels increased after the economic crisis in all considered countries. We also show that the life satisfaction variation is not necessarily higher for those who report being poor compared to those from the upper part of the income hierarchy. Results also suggest that in general the gaps are higher in the case of those who report being not affected at all by the economic crisis compared to those who report being affected to a large extent by the crisis.

  • Issue Year: 6/2014
  • Issue No: 2
  • Page Range: 22-31
  • Page Count: 10
  • Language: English