Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/10419/161034 
Year of Publication: 
2016
Series/Report no.: 
IZA Discussion Papers No. 10411
Publisher: 
Institute of Labor Economics (IZA), Bonn
Abstract: 
This study is the first to provide a causal estimate of the subjective well-being effects of spousal unemployment at the couple level. Using German panel data on married and cohabiting partners for 1991-2013 and information on exogenous job termination induced by workplace closure, we show that spousal unemployment reduces the life satisfaction of indirectly-affected spouses. The impact is equally pronounced among female and male partners. Importantly, the results are not driven by an income effect, but likely reflect the psychological costs of unemployment. Our findings are robust to a battery of sensitivity checks and imply that public policy programs aimed at mitigating the negative consequences of unemployment need to consider within-couple spillovers.
Subjects: 
unemployment
involuntary job loss
plant closure
spouses
well-being
JEL: 
I31
J01
J65
Document Type: 
Working Paper

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