scholarly journals The Great Recession and Life Satisfaction: The Unique Decline for Americans Approaching Retirement Age

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
John Ifcher ◽  
Homa Zarghamee ◽  
Amanda Cabacungan
Author(s):  
John Ifcher ◽  
Amanda Cabacungan

Using data from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System, we examine the impact of the Great Recession on subjective well-being (as measured by life satisfaction) and attempt to identify disparate effects by age. We find that those approaching retirement age (aged 55 to 64) experienced reduced life satisfaction after the recession, whereas younger working-aged adults did not. The disparate effects by age cannot be explained by income or unemployment trends, but may be explained by wealth effects. For example we find that the life satisfaction of those approaching retirement age, but not of younger working-age adults, is closely correlated with wealth indices (e.g. the Case–Shiller Housing Price Index and the S&P 500 Index).


2010 ◽  
Vol 214 ◽  
pp. R3-R25 ◽  
Author(s):  
David N.F. Bell ◽  
David G. Blanchflower

This paper considers some of the implications of the increase in UK unemployment since the beginning of the Great Recession. The major finding is that the sharp increase in unemployment and decrease in employment is largely concentrated on the young. This has occurred at a time when the size of the youth cohort is large. As a response to a lack of jobs there has been a substantial increase in applications to university, although there has only been a small rise in the number of places available. Further we find evidence that the unemployed have particularly low levels of well-being, are depressed, have low levels of life satisfaction, have difficulties paying their bills and are especially likely to be in financial difficulties.


2011 ◽  
Vol 101 (3) ◽  
pp. 40-44 ◽  
Author(s):  
Brooke Helppie McFall

This study uses data from pre- and post-crash surveys from the Cognitive Economics study to examine the impact of recent stock and labor market wealth losses on the planned retirement ages of older Americans. Regression estimates imply that the average wealth loss between July 2008 and May/June 2009 is associated with an increase in planned retirement age of approximately 2.5 months. Furthermore, pessimism about future stock market returns is found to amplify the impact of wealth losses on retirement timing.


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