scholarly journals Happiness Without a Financial Safety Net: Low Income Predicts Emotional Volatility

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sergio Pirla ◽  
Jordi Quoidbach

Decades of research suggest that money buys very little happiness. However, previous studies have relied on static measures assessing people’s well-being once or on average. We examine the “reel” of people’s emotional lives through over 1 million reports from 23,000 individuals whose happiness was tracked in real-time using a smartphone app. Results show that lower income is associated with increased happiness volatility—a relationship that replicates across multiple operationalizations of volatility, statistical models, and a sample of individuals from six developing countries (N > 25,000). An unsupervised anomaly detection algorithm further revealed that the greatest gap is between how frequent and intense the rich and the poor experience emotional downs, not ups. The happiness gap between the highest and lowest earners during episodes of intense unhappiness was 1.5 to 3 times the size of the gap in average happiness between these two groups. Finally, exploiting the exogeneity of monthly payments, we find that low-income people experience more moments and periods of anomalous happiness the last few days of the month, suggesting a causal relationship between income and happiness volatility.

2021 ◽  
Vol 15 ◽  
pp. 183449092110257
Author(s):  
Qiong Li ◽  
Chen Deng ◽  
Bin Zuo ◽  
Xiaobin Zhang

This study explored whether vertical position affects social categorization of the rich and the poor. Experiment 1 used high- and low-income occupations as stimuli, and found participants categorized high-income occupations faster when they were presented in the top vertical position compared to the bottom vertical position. In Experiment 2, participants responded using either the “up” or “down” key to categorize high- and low-income occupations, and responded faster to high-income occupations with the “up” key and low-income occupations with the “down” key. In Experiment 3, names identified as belonging to either rich or poor individuals were presented at the top or bottom of a screen, and the results were the same as in Experiments 1 and 2. These findings suggest that social categorization based on wealth involved perceptual simulations of vertical position, and that vertical position affects the social categorization of the rich and the poor.


2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Felix Cheung

The widening income gap between the rich and the poor has important social implications. Governmental-level income redistribution through tax and welfare policies presents an opportunity to reduce income inequality and its negative consequences. The current longitudinal studies examined whether within-region changes in income redistribution over time relate to life satisfaction. Moreover, I examined potential moderators of this relationship to test the strong versus weak hypotheses of income redistribution. The strong hypothesis posits that income redistribution is beneficial to most. The weak hypothesis posits that income redistribution is beneficial to some and damaging to others. Using a nationally representative sample of 57,932 German respondents from 16 German states across 30 years (Study 1) and a sample of 112,876 respondents from 33 countries across 24 years (Study 2), I found that within-state and within-nation changes in income redistribution over time were associated with life satisfaction. The models predicted that a 10% reduction in Gini through income redistribution in Germany increased life satisfaction to the same extent as an 37% increase in annual income (Study 1), and a 5% reduction in Gini through income redistribution increased life satisfaction to the same extent as a 11% increase in GDP (Study 2). These associations were positive across individual, national, and cultural characteristics. Increases in income redistribution predicted greater satisfaction for tax-payers and welfare-receivers, for liberals and conservatives, and for the poor and the rich. These findings support the strong hypothesis of income redistribution and suggest that redistribution policies may play an important role in societal well-being.


2020 ◽  
Vol 7 (8) ◽  
pp. 191232
Author(s):  
Bradley D. Mattan ◽  
Jasmin Cloutier

Although high status is often considered a desirable quality, this may not always be the case. Different factors may moderate the value of high status along a dimension such as wealth (e.g. gender, perceiver income/education). For example, studies suggest men may value wealth and control over resources more than women. This may be especially true for high-income men who already have control over substantial resources. Other work suggests that low-income men and women may have different experiences in educational contexts compared to their richer peers who dominate norms at higher levels of education. These experiences may potentially lead to different attitudes about the wealthy among low-income men and women. In this registered report, we proposed two key predictions based on our review of the literature and analyses of pilot data from the Attitudes, Identities and Individual Differences (AIID) study ( n = 767): (H1) increasing income will be associated with increased pro-wealthy bias for men more than for women and (H2) income will also moderate the effect of education on implicit pro-wealthy bias, depending on gender. Overall, men showed greater implicit pro-wealthy bias than did women. However, neither of our hypotheses that income would moderate the effects of gender on implicit pro-wealthy bias were supported. These findings suggest implicit pro-wealthy bias among men and are discussed in the context of exploratory analyses of gender differences in self-reported beliefs and attitudes about the rich and the poor.


Policy Papers ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 17 (15) ◽  
Author(s):  

PRGT-related policies following the 2015 enhancement of the financial safety net for LICs, while options to better assist countries confronting sudden balance of payments needs due to large natural disasters are under consideration. Demand for PRGT resources has increased. Demand for concessional resources has exceeded historical averages in recent years, mainly in response to sustained low commodity prices and deteriorated global financial market conditions. Demand is expected to reach new highs in 2017 and longer-term estimates have been raised somewhat.


Policy Papers ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 2017 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  

This Handbook provides guidance to staff on the financial facilities and non-financial instruments for low-income countries (LICs), defined here as all countries eligible to obtain concessional financing from the Fund. It updates the previous version of the Handbook that was published in February 2016 (IMF, 2016d) by incorporating modifications resulting from Board papers and related decisions since that time, including Financing for Development—Enhancing the Financial Safety Net for Developing Countries—Further Considerations (IMF, 2016c), Review of Poverty Reduction and Growth Trust – Review of Interest Rate Structure (IMF, 2016b), Eligibility to Use the Fund’s Facilities for Concessional Financing (IMF, 2017a), Large Natural Disasters—Enhancing the Financial Safety Net for Developing Countries (IMF, 2017b) and Adequacy of the Global Financial Safety Net – Proposal for a New Policy Coordination Instrument (IMF, 2017c). Designed as a comprehensive reference tool for program work on LICs, the Handbook also refers, in summary form, to a range of relevant policies that apply more generally to IMF members. As with all guidance notes, the relevant IMF Executive Board decisions, including the terms of the various LIC Trust Instruments that have been adopted by the Board, remain the sole legal authority on the matters covered in the Handbook


2017 ◽  
Vol 3 (01) ◽  
pp. 16
Author(s):  
Sumadi Sumadi

Economic activity is something that can not be separated from human life especially good for a country or region. Along with the times, of the needs of humans increase therefore the economy is continuously growing and changing. Islamic philanthropy has an important role in the economy. an instrument of philanthropy is the mechanism of transfer of the rich to the poor is right on target. At the same time, the Islamic philanthropy instrument acts as an effective social safety net. With the transfer of income from the rich to the poor, there will be an increase in demand for goods and services from the poor, who are generally basic needs. Judging from the type of funding source, Zakat, Infak, Sadaqah (ZIS) with the largest Muslim population in the world, Indonesia has the potential for enormous ZIS. The methodology in this study used a qualitative phenomenological approach, so that research results in accordance with the facts on the ground. Source of data derived from primary data and secondary data. While data collection techniques with in-depth interviews, documentary studies, as well as participant observation. Potential national charity reached 19.3 trillion. While Hafidhuddin (2010), said that the potential of zakat in Indonesia reached 80 trillion annually (this potential, before accounting for the funds infaq and sadaqah untapped in the community as a source of funds are voluntary sadaqah infaq. Potential Zakat, Infaq, Shodaqoh Sukoharjo regency of 1.6 M / year average of 30% in the form of zakat profession dominated by civil servants and the percentage of individuals still need to be improved and 70% is still a infaq shodaqoh ".Keyword: Infaq Zakat and Sadaqah Sukoharjo, Poverty


2018 ◽  
Vol 5 ◽  
pp. 233339281774968 ◽  
Author(s):  
Akiko Kamimura ◽  
Samin Panahi ◽  
Zobayer Ahmmad ◽  
Mu Pye ◽  
Jeanie Ashby

Introduction: Nonfinancial barriers are frequent causes of unmet need in health-care services. The significance of transportation barriers can weigh more than the issues of access to care. The purpose of this cross-sectional study was to examine transportation and other nonfinancial barriers among low-income uninsured patients of a safety net health-care facility (free clinic). Methods: The survey data were collected from patients aged 18 years and older who spoke English or Spanish at a free clinic, which served uninsured individuals in poverty in the United States. Results: Levels of transportation barriers were associated with levels of other nonfinancial barriers. Higher levels of nonfinancial barriers were associated with elevation in levels of stress and poorer self-rated general health. Higher educational attainment and employment were associated with an increase in other nonfinancial barriers. Conclusion: Focusing only on medical interventions might not be sufficient for the well-being of the underserved populations. Future studies should examine integrative care programs that include medical treatment and social services together and evaluate such programs to improve care for underserved populations.


Author(s):  
Gerda Hooijer

Abstract Does benefit competition affect voters' support for immigrants' social rights? While scholars in political economy expect that benefit competition lowers support among the poor, the evidence is limited. This seems to be largely due to the reliance on highly aggregated analyses and the neglect of the institutional context in which individuals form their preferences. This article argues that lower-income voters are more likely to reduce their support due to competition when benefit eligibility depends on income. Using individual-level panel data from the Netherlands and a novel way to measure benefit competition, the study shows that lower-middle-income voters become less supportive of immigrants' social rights when more social housing in their municipality is allocated to refugees. By contrast, competition does not reduce support among the rich or the very poor. The findings suggest that benefit competition can erode support for immigrants' social rights and influence electoral politics.


1982 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 101-106
Author(s):  
Wayne A. Schutjer ◽  
C. Shannon Stokes

The current and future world food problem is centered in low income nations and among low income segments of populations world wide. The thesis of this paper is that increases in income and food production in the poorer nations and among low income segments of rural populations elsewhere are likely to aggravate that problem in the first instance. It is after some minimum level of economic well being has been attained that further increases in income will result in reduced family size.


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