Trends in the Happiness of Single Mothers: Evidence from the General Social Survey

Ifcher, John; Zarghamee, Homa

doi:10.2139/ssrn.1740029

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Trends in the Happiness of Single Mothers: Evidence from the General Social Survey

44 Pages Posted: 16 Jan 2011 Last revised: 13 Sep 2014

See all articles by John Ifcher

John Ifcher

Santa Clara University - Leavey School of Business - Economics Department

Homa Zarghamee

Santa Clara University - Leavey School of Business

Date Written: July 1, 2011

Abstract

We study the subjective well being (SWB) of single mothers from 1972 to 2008 using data from the General Social Survey. While past literature has examined the outcomes of single mothers, an investigation of SWB is warranted, since it has been shown that there are potentially large slippages between economic indicators and SWB. Our results indicate that (i) single mothers report being significantly less happy than non-single-mothers, and (ii) this “happiness gap” shrank between 1972 and 2008.

Keywords: single mothers, happiness, welfare reform, difference-in-difference, subjective wellbeing

JEL Classification: I38, D60, H53

Suggested Citation: Suggested Citation

Ifcher, John and Zarghamee, Homa, Trends in the Happiness of Single Mothers: Evidence from the General Social Survey (July 1, 2011). Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=1740029 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.1740029