Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/10419/273577 
Year of Publication: 
2023
Series/Report no.: 
IOS Working Papers No. 400
Publisher: 
Leibniz-Institut für Ost- und Südosteuropaforschung (IOS), Regensburg
Abstract: 
I investigate the consequences of income fluctuations caused by commodity price changes on happiness levels in regions specialising in export agriculture. Using a difference-in-differences framework, I compare subjective well-being patterns of households living in cotton and non-cotton geographical areas of Tajikistan before and after the 2010/11 cotton price increase. The results indicate that exposure to income fluctuations, even to a positive one, is associated with a notable decrease in the reported levels of financial and overall life satisfaction. The well-being changes are mainly observed between households engaged in agricultural employment, the number of which became larger only in cotton regions in response to the shock. The results of triple difference-in-differences estimations reveal that remittances mediate the negative effects of export price fluctuations but only on financial satisfaction, suggesting that a mere compensation of income losses does not fully restore subjective well-being.
Subjects: 
subjective well-being
export prices
household income
remittances
JEL: 
I31
Q02
Document Type: 
Working Paper

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