Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/10419/77556 
Year of Publication: 
2011
Series/Report no.: 
Working Paper No. 47
Publisher: 
University of Zurich, Department of Economics, Zurich
Abstract: 
This paper studies the evolution of life satisfaction over the life course in Germany. It clarifies the causal interpretation of the econometric model by discussing the choice of control variables and the underidentification between age, cohort and time effects. The empirical part analyzes the distribution of life satisfaction over the life course at the aggregated, subgroup and individual level. To the findings: On average, life satisfaction is mildly decreasing up to age fifty-five followed by a hump shape with a maximum at seventy. The analysis at the lower levels suggests that people differ in their life satisfaction trends, whereas the hump shape after age fifty-five is robust. No important differences between men and women are found. In contrast, education groups differ in their trends: highly educated people become happier over the life cycle, where life satisfaction decreases for less educated people.
Subjects: 
aging
life satisfaction
well-being
happiness methodology
JEL: 
C23
I31
D91
Persistent Identifier of the first edition: 
Document Type: 
Working Paper

Files in This Item:
File
Size
366.57 kB





Items in EconStor are protected by copyright, with all rights reserved, unless otherwise indicated.