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Research ArticleArticle

The Effect of Income on Subjective Well-Being

Evidence from the 2008 Economic Stimulus Tax Rebates

Marta Lachowska
Journal of Human Resources, March 2017, 52 (2) 374-417; DOI: https://doi.org/10.3368/jhr.52.2.1014-6727R1
Marta Lachowska
Marta Lachowska is an economist at the W.E. Upjohn Institute for Employment Research.
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Abstract

This paper uses tax rebate payments from the 2008 economic stimulus to estimate the effect of a one-time change in income on three measures of subjective well-being: life satisfaction, health satisfaction, and affect. The income effect is identified by exploiting the plausibly exogenous variation in the payment schedule of the rebates. Using both ordinary least squares and two-stage least squares estimators, I find that the rebates had a large and positive impact on affect, which is explained by a reduction in feelings of stress and worry. For life satisfaction and health satisfaction, there is weaker evidence of a positive impact.

  • Received October 2014.
  • Accepted October 2015.
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Journal of Human Resources: 52 (2)
Journal of Human Resources
Vol. 52, Issue 2
31 Mar 2017
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The Effect of Income on Subjective Well-Being
Marta Lachowska
Journal of Human Resources Mar 2017, 52 (2) 374-417; DOI: 10.3368/jhr.52.2.1014-6727R1

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The Effect of Income on Subjective Well-Being
Marta Lachowska
Journal of Human Resources Mar 2017, 52 (2) 374-417; DOI: 10.3368/jhr.52.2.1014-6727R1
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  • Article
    • Abstract
    • I. Introduction
    • II. Background on the 2008 Economic Stimulus Tax Rebates
    • III. Data
    • IV. Methods
    • V. Results
    • VI. Discussion
    • VII. Conclusion
    • Acknowledgments
    • Appendix
    • Footnotes
    • References
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