Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/10419/96371 
Authors: 
Year of Publication: 
2014
Series/Report no.: 
IAAEU Discussion Paper Series in Economics No. 03/2014
Publisher: 
University of Trier, Institute for Labour Law and Industrial Relations in the European Union (IAAEU), Trier
Abstract: 
Information on the number of interviewer contacts allows insights into how people's responses to questions on happiness are connected to the difficulty of reaching potential participants. Using the paradata of the German Socio-Economic Panel Study (SOEP), this paper continues such research by revealing a strong link between respondent motivation and reported happiness. Analyses of responses by future non-respondents substantiate this finding and shed light on a key question for empirical research on subjective well-being, which is whether the unhappy tend to avoid survey participation or whether the unwilling might respond more negatively when being asked about their satisfaction with life.
Subjects: 
Happiness
Respondent motivation
Measurement bias
Life satisfaction
Panel attrition
Interviewer contacts
JEL: 
C8
I3
Document Type: 
Working Paper

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