Report

Are Youths on Income Support Less Happy? Evidence from Australia

Author(s) / Creator(s)

Lee, Wang-Sheng
Oguzoglu, Umut

Abstract / Description

The central research question addressed in this paper is how receipt of income support payments affects the well-being of youths. Using 1997-2004 panel data from a nationally representative survey of Australian youths, we attempt to estimate the size of the welfare stigma faced by Australian youths, where stigma is defined as the effect of welfare receipt on reported happiness levels. In analysing the determinants of happiness, we argue that it is important to control for dynamics and initial conditions. The latter arguably measures an initial setpoint of happiness which the psychological literature has found strong support for. In contrast to the general findings of the existence of a welfare stigma for adults, based on our results using dynamic panel probit models, our findings suggest that for Australian youths, there is a small negative but not statistically significant stigma associated with welfare receipt.

Keyword(s)

Zufriedenheit Unterstützung Jugend finanziell well-being happiness welfare stigma youths

Persistent Identifier

Date of first publication

2007

Is part of series

Forschungsinstitut zur Zukunft der Arbeit/ Institute for the Study of Labor: IZA Discussion Paper Series;2709

Citation

  • Author(s) / Creator(s)
    Lee, Wang-Sheng
  • Author(s) / Creator(s)
    Oguzoglu, Umut
  • PsychArchives acquisition timestamp
    2022-11-17T11:01:19Z
  • Made available on
    2008-06-03
  • Made available on
    2015-12-01T10:32:11Z
  • Made available on
    2022-11-17T11:01:19Z
  • Date of first publication
    2007
  • Abstract / Description
    The central research question addressed in this paper is how receipt of income support payments affects the well-being of youths. Using 1997-2004 panel data from a nationally representative survey of Australian youths, we attempt to estimate the size of the welfare stigma faced by Australian youths, where stigma is defined as the effect of welfare receipt on reported happiness levels. In analysing the determinants of happiness, we argue that it is important to control for dynamics and initial conditions. The latter arguably measures an initial setpoint of happiness which the psychological literature has found strong support for. In contrast to the general findings of the existence of a welfare stigma for adults, based on our results using dynamic panel probit models, our findings suggest that for Australian youths, there is a small negative but not statistically significant stigma associated with welfare receipt.
    en
  • Persistent Identifier
    https://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:bsz:291-psydok-16409
  • Persistent Identifier
    https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11780/1102
  • Persistent Identifier
    https://doi.org/10.23668/psycharchives.8869
  • Language of content
    eng
  • Is part of
    IZA Discussion Paper Series No. 2709
  • Is part of series
    Forschungsinstitut zur Zukunft der Arbeit/ Institute for the Study of Labor: IZA Discussion Paper Series;2709
  • Keyword(s)
    Zufriedenheit
    de
  • Keyword(s)
    Unterstützung
    de
  • Keyword(s)
    Jugend
    de
  • Keyword(s)
    finanziell
    de
  • Keyword(s)
    well-being
    en
  • Keyword(s)
    happiness
    en
  • Keyword(s)
    welfare stigma
    en
  • Keyword(s)
    youths
    en
  • Dewey Decimal Classification number(s)
    150
  • Title
    Are Youths on Income Support Less Happy? Evidence from Australia
    en
  • DRO type
    report
  • Visible tag(s)
    PsyDok