scholarly journals Who Becomes Unhappy when Income Inequality Increases?

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bjorn Lous ◽  
Johan Graafland
Keyword(s):  
Life Satisfaction ◽  
Income Inequality ◽  
Harmful Effect ◽  
World Values Survey ◽  
Lower Income ◽  
Negative Effects ◽  
Average Life ◽  
Income Groups ◽  
The World ◽  
Negative Effect

AbstractLiterature has established that, on a macroeconomic level, income inequality has a negative effect on average life satisfaction. An unresolved question is, however, which income groups are harmed by income inequality. In this paper we investigate this relationship at the microeconomic level combining national indicators of income inequality with individual data of life satisfaction from the World Values Survey for 39 countries over a period of 25 years. Tests on moderation by income category show that the Gini coefficient is most negatively related to life satisfaction of the lowest income groups, but the negative effects also extends to other income groups. For the income share of the top 1% we find a similar result. These findings show that income inequality is especially a concern for the lower income groups, but that the harmful effect of income inequality also spillovers to the life satisfaction of other income groups.

Freedom and life satisfaction in transition

2015 ◽  
Vol 37 (2) ◽  
pp. 143-164
Author(s):  
Adam Okulicz-Kozaryn
Keyword(s):  
Life Satisfaction ◽  
Eastern Europe ◽  
Strong Predictor ◽  
National Income ◽  
World Values Survey ◽  
The World ◽  
Personal Feeling ◽  
Special Meaning

Freedom and life satisfaction are desirable conditions and they both have a special meaning in Eastern Europe — transition was largely about gaining freedom and ultimately overall wellbeing. There are several studies about the effect of freedom on life satisfaction, but none of them focuses on Eastern Europe. I investigate the effect of self-reported freedom on life satisfaction in post-transition Eastern Europe using the World Values Survey. Surprisingly, East Europeans feel less free and less satisfied with their lives than other nationals. But a personal feeling of freedom increases their life satisfaction at a higher rate than in other countries. Freedom is a strong predictor of life satisfaction as compared to national income.

scholarly journals Income Inequality Affects the Psychological Health of Only the People Facing Scarcity

2018 ◽  
Vol 29 (12) ◽  
pp. 1911-1921 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nicolas Sommet ◽  
Davide Morselli ◽  
Dario Spini
Keyword(s):  
Income Inequality ◽  
Low Income ◽  
Psychological Health ◽  
National Income ◽  
World Values Survey ◽  
Psychological Consequences ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
The People ◽  
The World ◽  
The Status

Following the status-anxiety hypothesis, the psychological consequences of income inequality should be particularly severe for economically vulnerable individuals. Oddly, however, income inequality is often found to affect vulnerable low-income and advantaged high-income groups equally. We argue that economic vulnerability is better captured by a financial-scarcity measure and hypothesize that income inequality primarily impairs the psychological health of people facing scarcity. First, repeated cross-sectional international data (from the World Values Survey: 146,034 participants; 105 country waves) revealed that the within-country effect of national income inequality on feelings of unhappiness was limited to individuals facing scarcity (≈25% of the World Values Survey population). Second, longitudinal national data (Swiss Household Panel: 14,790 participants; 15,595 municipality years) revealed that the within-life-course effect of local income inequality on psychological health problems was also limited to these individuals (< 10% of the Swiss population). Income inequality by itself may not be a problem for psychological health but, rather, may be a catalyst for the consequences of financial scarcity.

scholarly journals Gender, Marital Status and Life Satisfaction

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Theodore N Greenstein
Keyword(s):  
Gender Differences ◽  
Life Satisfaction ◽  
Marital Status ◽  
Employment Status ◽  
Religious Affiliation ◽  
World Values Survey ◽  
The World ◽  
Relationship Of ◽  
Main Effects ◽  
The Relationship

*This paper uses materials from the World Values Survey and the EuropeanValues Study from 2006-2014 to study the relationship of gender and maritalstatus to life satisfaction. In an analysis of 103,217 respondents from 81nations I find that while there do not seem to be main effects of gender onlife satisfaction – that is, women are no more or less satisfied with theirlives than are men -- gender moderates the effects of geographical region,age, employment status, education, religious affiliation, and attendance ofreligious services on life satisfaction. In particular, there aresubstantial differences in the effects of marital status on lifesatisfaction by gender. The gender differences in most effects are sosubstantial that I argue that it makes no sense to analyze lifesatisfaction data without performing separate analyses by gender. *

Income Inequality, Life Satisfaction, and Economic Worries

2016 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
pp. 133-141 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bettina Roth ◽  
Elisabeth Hahn ◽  
Frank M. Spinath
Keyword(s):  
Life Satisfaction ◽  
Income Inequality ◽  
Middle Class ◽  
Panel Study ◽  
National Level ◽  
Negative Relationship ◽  
Income Disparity ◽  
Negative Effects ◽  
The Poor ◽  
The Rich

We analyzed the effect of income inequality on Germans’ life satisfaction considering factors explaining the mechanism of this relationship. Based on data from the German Socio-Economic Panel Study for the years 1984 to 2012, we found a negative relationship between national-level income disparity and average life satisfaction, meaning that people felt happier in years with lower inequality. The effect was completely mediated by economic worries, which increased with rising inequality and in turn reduced people’s satisfaction. However, people’s reaction to inequality depended on their income level: Considering the direct effect of inequality, higher income disparity was clearly detrimental only for the poor and the middle class. Moreover, we found a significant mediation through economic worries for the middle class but not for the poor. The rich showed a more complex pattern of interrelations with both, positive and negative effects of inequality when controlling for economic worries.

Does Immigration Erode Social Capital? The Conditional Effects of Immigration-Generated Diversity on Trust, Membership, and Participation across 19 Countries, 1981–2000

2010 ◽  
Vol 43 (2) ◽  
pp. 319-347 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christel Kesler ◽  
Irene Bloemraad
Keyword(s):  
Social Trust ◽  
World Values Survey ◽  
Negative Effects ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Individual Level ◽  
Country Level ◽  
Conditional Effects ◽  
Negative Effect ◽  
Nous Examinons ◽  
Société Civile

Abstract. This article is an attempt to qualify existing evidence that increasing diversity is detrimental to a vibrant civil society. We focus specifically on immigration-generated diversity, and argue that while it may have negative effects on some specific civic and political outcomes in some contexts, these effects vary widely across advanced democracies. Our argument rests on analysis of a cross-national, cross-sectional time-series dataset that brings together individual-level World Values Survey data with country-level variables. With these data, we track within-country changes over time in trust and engagement. We show that immigration can have a negative effect on social trust, organizational membership and political engagement, but that institutional arrangements shape this relationship in systematic ways. In more economically equal societies and in more multicultural countries (where cultural minorities are recognized and accommodated), the negative effects of immigration on trust and engagement are mitigated or even reversed. We conclude that there is no general link between immigration-generated diversity and collective-mindedness. Rather, the direction and strength of the relationship depend on institutional and policy contexts.Résumé. Cet article vise à nuancer les preuves existantes que la diversité croissante porte préjudice à une société civile dynamique. Nous nous concentrons particulièrement sur la diversité produite par l'immigration. Nous soutenons que même si elle peut exercer une influence négative sur quelques indices dans certains contextes, ces effets varient considérablement selon le pays examiné parmi les démocraties avancées. Notre argument repose sur l'analyse d'un ensemble de données multinational, transversal et longitudinal qui rassemble des données au niveau individuel du World Values Survey avec des variables au niveau des pays. Au moyen de ces données, nous examinons les changements survenus à l'intérieur des pays, au fil du temps, sur le plan de la confiance et de l'engagement. Nous montrons que l'immigration peut avoir un effet négatif sur la confiance sociale, l'adhésion à des organisations et l'engagement politique, mais que les arrangements institutionnels influencent cette relation de manières systématiques. Dans les sociétés plus économiquement égales et dans les pays plus multiculturels (où les minorités culturelles sont reconnues et accommodées), les effets négatifs de l'immigration sur la confiance et l'engagement sont atténués, voire inversés. Nous concluons qu'il n'y a aucun lien général entre la diversité produite par l'immigration et l'esprit collectif. La direction et la force de la relation entre les deux dépendent plutôt des politiques et des contextes institutionnels.

French and Canadian Exchange Rate Policy

1955 ◽  
Vol 15 (4) ◽  
pp. 403-410 ◽  
Author(s):  
Harry C. Eastman
Keyword(s):  
Exchange Rate ◽  
Gold Standard ◽  
Exchange Rate Policy ◽  
Lower Income ◽  
Capital Movements ◽  
Income Groups ◽  
The World ◽  
Domestic Credit ◽  
International Demand ◽  
Rate Policy

Whatever may have been the merits of the gold standard in die nineteenth century, it has not proved a satisfactory system of exchange since 1913. The decentralization of the world financial system, the greater liquidity of the public's holdings, and the appearance of capital movements unrelated to movements of trade have rendered abortive attempts to return permanently to the gold standard. In any event, the unwillingness of governments, increasingly dependent on the favor of the lower income groups, to allow or compel the contraction of domestic credit in response to changes in international demand prevented the operation of a system that depends on such adjustments. But the gold standard of die nineteendi century cast a long shadow behind it.

scholarly journals The Two Faces of Diversity: The Relationships between Religious Polarization, Religious Fractionalization, and Self-rated Health

2020 ◽  
Vol 61 (1) ◽  
pp. 79-95
Author(s):  
Yun Lu ◽  
Xiaozhao Y. Yang
Keyword(s):  
Social Sciences ◽  
Political Institutions ◽  
Religious Diversity ◽  
World Values Survey ◽  
Negative Effects ◽  
Positive Effects ◽  
Individual Health ◽  
The Social ◽  
The World ◽  
Religious Polarization

A dominant discourse in the social sciences theorizes that religious diversity puts individuals’ health at risk via interreligious hostility. However, this discourse overlooks the different subtypes of religious diversity and the moderation of political institutions. To better understand the issue of diversity and health, in this study, we distinguish between two subtypes of religious diversity—polarization and fractionalization—and argue that their impacts on health are heterogeneous. Using a sample of 67,399 individuals from 51 societies drawn from the 2010–2014 wave of the World Values Survey, our multilevel analyses show that religious polarization is negatively associated with individual health, whereas the health effects of religious fractionalization are positive. Moreover, the associations between religious polarization/fractionalization and individual health are found to depend on the democratic level of the state. In more democratic countries, the negative effects of polarization on health are mitigated, and the positive effects of fractionalization are stronger.

Class Bias in Voter Turnout, Representation, and Income Inequality

2016 ◽  
Vol 14 (2) ◽  
pp. 351-368 ◽  
Author(s):  
William W. Franko ◽  
Nathan J. Kelly ◽  
Christopher Witko
Keyword(s):  
Income Inequality ◽  
Voter Turnout ◽  
The United States ◽  
Economic Policies ◽  
Lower Income ◽  
Class Bias ◽  
Government Ideology ◽  
Income Groups ◽  
Distribution Of Resources ◽  
Equal Income

The mass franchise led to more responsive government and a more equitable distribution of resources in the United States and other democracies. Recently in America, however, voter participation has been low and increasingly biased toward the wealthy. We investigate whether this electoral “class bias” shapes government ideology, the substance of economic policy, and distributional outcomes, thereby shedding light on both the old question of whether who votes matters and the newer question of how politics has contributed to growing income inequality. Because both lower and upper income groups try to use their resources to mobilize their supporters and demobilize their opponents, we argue that variation in class bias in turnout is a good indicator of the balance of power between upper and lower income groups. And because lower income voters favor more liberal governments and economic policies we expect that less class bias will be associated with these outcomes and a more equal income distribution. Our analysis of data from the U.S. states confirms that class bias matters for these outcomes.

scholarly journals The economic consequences of a fuel levy reform in South Africa

2011 ◽  
Vol 12 (3) ◽  
pp. 280-296 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ramos Mabugu ◽  
Margaret Chitiga ◽  
Hammed Amusa
Keyword(s):  
South African ◽  
Economic Activity ◽  
Economic Effects ◽  
Economic Consequences ◽  
Government Revenue ◽  
Lower Income ◽  
Negative Effects ◽  
Potential Source ◽  
Fiscal System ◽  
Negative Effect

This paper assesses the economic effects of a hypothetical fuel levy imposed by South African provinces. The welfare effects of increasing the fuel levy by 10 per cent are negative but very small. Similarly, the marginal excess burdens for efficiency and equity (poverty) are quite low, suggesting much smaller impacts of the intervention on both economic activity and equity.  Furthermore, a fiscal policy reform that raises fuel levy by 10 per cent is progressive as it has stronger negative effects on higher income households than the lower income households. A potential source of instability for the macroeconomy and total government revenue is the negative effect on economic activity induced by the fuel levy increase. The remedies suggested are that policymakers should make tax room elsewhere in the intergovernmental fiscal system to accommodate the fuel levy increase.

scholarly journals Elimination of Negative Effect of Fe in Secondary Alloys AlSi6Cu4 (En Ac 45 000, A 319) by Nickel

2014 ◽  
Vol 59 (2) ◽  
pp. 717-721 ◽  
Author(s):  
D. Bolibruchová ◽  
J. Macko ◽  
M. Brůna
Keyword(s):  
Automotive Industry ◽  
Iron Content ◽  
Harmful Effect ◽  
Negative Effects ◽  
Microstructure Evaluation ◽  
Negative Effect ◽  
Iron Based ◽  
Initial Impulse ◽  
Casting Production ◽  
Standard Operations

Abstract Submitted article deals with influence of iron based phases segregation by nickel, which is in literature known as iron based phases corrector. Iron is one of the most common impurities that can be found in Al-Si alloys. It is impossible to remove iron from melt by standard operations, but it is possible to eliminate iron negative effects by addition of other elements, that enables segregation of iron in form of intermetallics with less harmful effect. For melt treatment was selected an exact alloy with requested iron content - master alloy AlNi20. Influence of nickel was evaluated quantitatively by chemical analysis (solubility), thermal analysis and microstructure evaluation. Experimental results analysis shows a new view on solubility of iron based phases during melt preparation and treatment with higher iron content and also nickel effect as iron corrector of iron based phases. It can be concluded that nickel did not influenced iron based phases (β-phases), it does not change their type into more favorable form. As an initial impulse for starting this work was insufficient theoretical knowledge of usage secondary alloys Al-Si-Cu with higher iron content and its appropriate elimination in process of castings production for automotive industry. Increased iron content in alloys causes segregation of iron phases in various shapes and types during solidification, which subsequently affects quality, soundness and lifetime of castings. Because of increased demands for casting quality, final mechanical properties and effort to reduce costs, it is necessary to look for compromises in casting production from secondary alloys with occurrence of various impurities.

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