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Correlational findings

Study Luechinger et al. (2008): study US 1976

Public
Employees public and private sector, USA, 1976-2002.
Sample
Respondents
N = 19530
Non Response
Assessment
Interview: face-to-face

Correlate

Authors's Label
Unemployment at state level
Our Classification
Remarks
Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics
Operationalization
Rate of unemployment in state where one lives

Observed Relation with Happiness

Happiness Measure Statistics Elaboration / Remarks O-HL-c-sq-v-3-aa = HAPPINESS IN YEAR BY UNEMPLOYMENT-RATE IN YEAR O-HL-c-sq-v-3-aa b = -.03 p < .05 All sectors O-HL-c-sq-v-3-aa b = -.04 p < .05 Private sector O-HL-c-sq-v-3-aa b = +.07 ns Public sector

B's controlled for:
-gender
-age
-white/non-white
-number of children
-working full-time/part-time
-income quartile
-household size
-education
-marital status
-size of town (dummies)
-year and state (fixed effects)

Unemployment rate has more (negative) impact on happiness in private sector.