TY - UNPB

T1 - Other-regarding preferences, spousal disability and happiness

T2 - evidence from German couples

AU - Braakmann, Nils

N1 - Literaturverz. S. 10 - 12

PY - 2009

Y1 - 2009

N2 - This paper considers the impact of adverse health shocks that hit an individual’s partner on subjective well-being. Using data on couples from the German Socio-Economic Panel for the years 1984 to 2006, I compare the losses in well-being caused by own and spousal disability using panel-regressions. I find that women and to a lesser extent men are harmed by spousal disability which is consistent with the existence of other-regarding preferences within couples. The magnitude of effects suggests that spousal disability is about one quarter to one half as harmful as individual disability with larger effects being found for women.

AB - This paper considers the impact of adverse health shocks that hit an individual’s partner on subjective well-being. Using data on couples from the German Socio-Economic Panel for the years 1984 to 2006, I compare the losses in well-being caused by own and spousal disability using panel-regressions. I find that women and to a lesser extent men are harmed by spousal disability which is consistent with the existence of other-regarding preferences within couples. The magnitude of effects suggests that spousal disability is about one quarter to one half as harmful as individual disability with larger effects being found for women.

KW - Economics

KW - disability

KW - subjective well-being

KW - other-regarding prefernces

M3 - Working papers

T3 - Working paper series in economics

BT - Other-regarding preferences, spousal disability and happiness

PB - Institut für Volkswirtschaftslehre der Universität Lüneburg

CY - Lüneburg

ER -