Are Happiness and Productivity Lower among University Students with Newly-Divorced Parents? An Experimental Approach

Eugenio Proto, Daniel Sgroi and Andrew Oswald

No 271000, Economic Research Papers from University of Warwick - Department of Economics

Abstract: We live in a high-divorce age. Parents worry about the possibility of negative effects upon their children. This paper tests whether recent parental-divorce has deleterious consequences for grown children. Under controlled conditions, it measures students’ happiness with life, and their productivity in a standardized laboratory task. No negative effects from divorce can be detected. If anything, happiness and productivity are greater, particularly among males, if they have experienced parental divorce. Using longitudinal BHPS data -- to control for fixed effects -- we crosscheck this result on happiness. Again, the evidence suggests that young people’s mental well-being improves after parental divorce.

Keywords: Financial; Economics (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 31
Date: 2010-06-16
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (7)

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Related works:
Working Paper: Are Happiness and Productivity Lower among University Students with Newly-Divorced Parents? An Experimental Approach (2010)
Working Paper: Are Happiness and Productivity Lower among University Students with Newly-Divorced Parents? An Experimental Approach (2010)
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:ags:uwarer:271000

DOI: 10.22004/ag.econ.271000

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