This article analyzes the main determinants of changes in subjective well-being over time in Germany distinguishing between long-term and short-term changes. Our findings for the long term indicate that social capital and values and cultural dimensions have the greatest capacity to predict changes in subjective well-being. Likewise, the correlation between economic resources and subjective well-being is weaker due to the small increase registered in household income and because people compare their income with those who are better off and feel envy. In the short term, economic resources have the highest capacity to predict both improvements (ups) and declines (downs) in subjective well-being. Finally, we also suggest that, whenever information is available, personality traits should be taken into account in the analysis of changes in subjective well-being over time in order to achieve more reliable estimates.

Combating child poverty is desirable to ensure equality of opportunities across children, as well as fostering the sustainability of the societal well-being for future generations. This paper focuses on the study of child poverty in the 28 Member States of the European Union over the period 2008–2018. We analyse the relationship between child poverty and government social expenditure by controlling it with tax structure (ratio direct taxes over indirect taxes), economic growth and socio-demographic characteristics. For that, we rely on panel data methodology. This paper has verified that the effectiveness of the government social spending programmes to reduce child poverty also depends on the progressiveness of the country’s tax structure. Government spending on health and education programmes could be more effective in reducing child poverty in Member States with less progressive tax structure, provided they reached the average level of public spending for the whole of the European Union. By contrast, a positive relationship between child poverty and government social protection spending regardless of the tax structure of countries was found. In this case, the underlying forces that lead to less effectiveness of social protection programmes are also stronger in the less progressive Member States.

INGRESO Y BIENESTAR SUBJETIVO: EL EFECTO DE LAS COMPARACIONES SOCIALES

The determinants of domain satisfactions could be differently evaluated depending on the aspect of life considered, which would lead to different implications for public policies. To test this hypothesis, using the German Socio−Economic Panel (GSOEP), we analyse the effect of different economic and non−economic factors on satisfaction with financial situation, job and health status. The main results confirm that several determinants exert different effects depending on the aspect of life that people are evaluating. For instance, household income only improves satisfaction with financial situation but it does not explain job or health satisfaction. However, those people with an active social life, who are less worried and distrustful, are more satisfied regardless of the aspect of life considered. These findings reflect the importance of studying the main determinants of the domain satisfactions using a comparative perspective to design and evaluate specific public policies, since some measures could be effective for improving satisfaction in one area of an individual’s life but not for others.

Economic insecurity conditions economic behaviour and negatively impacts individuals’ quality of life. Previous studies that have examined this issue from a multidimensional perspective present significant methodological shortcomings, ranging from the selection of indicators to the mathematical method used for synthesising data. In this paper, we propose a new methodological framework to analyse the economic insecurity of Italian and Spanish households in the period 2013–2019. Specifically, we compute three components of economic insecurity as dependent variables in a trivariate probit model, allowing us to study the determinants of economic insecurity considering the interdependency of the three outcomes. Our results reveal that while the primary symptom of economic insecurity in Italy is the inability to deal with unexpected expenses, in Spain it is the struggle to make ends meet. In both countries, the main drivers of economic insecurity are the householder’s characteristics, although their intensity differs: being unemployed, separated, or divorced; low educational attainment; and being a woman. In Italy, there is a high regional effect, with those living in the South or the Islands significantly more likely to experience economic insecurity. The two main buffers identified as a source of economic insecurity are the tertiary education of the householder and home ownership. Our findings suggest that government policies should prioritise employment promotion, boost access to education and job training, encourage investment in affordable housing, and improve women’s working conditions.