Happiness as a guide to labor market policy

Jo Ritzen
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Jo Ritzen: Maastricht University, the Netherlands, and IZA, Germany

World of Labour, 2019, No 149, 149

Abstract: Measures of individual happiness, or well-being, can guide labor market policies. Individual unemployment, as well as the rate of unemployment in society, have a negative effect on happiness. In contrast, employment protection and un-employment benefits or a basic income can contribute to happiness—though when such policies prolong unintended unemployment, the net effect on national happiness is negative. Active labor market policies that create more job opportunities increase happiness, which in turn increases productivity. Measures of individual happiness should therefore guide labor market policy more explicitly, also with substantial robotization in production.

Keywords: happiness; well-being; employment protection; wage-income distribution; robotization (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: D31 J21 J28 J31 J64 J83 Z18 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2019
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (3)

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