The Rising Well-Being of the Young

47 Pages Posted: 11 Jun 2000 Last revised: 6 Mar 2022

See all articles by David G. Blanchflower

David G. Blanchflower

Dartmouth College - Department of Economics; National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER); University of Stirling - Department of Economics

Andrew J. Oswald

University of Warwick - Department of Economics; IZA Institute of Labor Economics

Date Written: July 1997

Abstract

Many observers believe that times are growing harder for young people in Western society. This paper looks at the evidence and finds that conventional wisdom appears to be wrong. Using the U.S. General Social Surveys and the Eurobarometer Surveys, the paper studies the reported happiness and life-satisfaction scores of random samples of young men and women. " The data cover the USA and thirteen European countries. Our main finding is that from the 1970s to the 1990s the well-being of the young increased quite markedly. A number of possible explanations are considered.

Suggested Citation

Blanchflower, David G. and Oswald, Andrew J., The Rising Well-Being of the Young (July 1997). NBER Working Paper No. w6102, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=225879

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Andrew J. Oswald

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