Arbeitspapier
Unmet aspirations as an explanation for the age U-shape in human wellbeing
A large literature in behavioral and social sciences has found that human wellbeing follows a U-shape over age. Some theories have assumed that the U-shape is caused by unmet expectations that are felt painfully in midlife but beneficially abandoned and experienced with less regret during old age. In a unique panel of 132,609 life satisfaction expectations matched to subsequent realizations, I find people to err systematically in predicting their life satisfaction over the life cycle. They expect - incorrectly - increases in young adulthood and decreases during old age. These errors are large, ranging from 9.8% at age 21 to -4.5% at age 68, they are stable over time and observed across socio-economic groups. These findings support theories that unmet expectations drive the age U-shape in wellbeing.
- Sprache
-
Englisch
- Erschienen in
-
Series: SOEPpapers on Multidisciplinary Panel Data Research ; No. 580
- Klassifikation
-
Wirtschaft
Relation of Economics to Other Disciplines
Welfare, Well-Being, and Poverty: General
Expectations; Speculations
- Thema
-
life satisfaction
expectations
aging
- Ereignis
-
Geistige Schöpfung
- (wer)
-
Schwandt, Hannes
- Ereignis
-
Veröffentlichung
- (wer)
-
Deutsches Institut für Wirtschaftsforschung (DIW)
- (wo)
-
Berlin
- (wann)
-
2013
- Handle
- Letzte Aktualisierung
-
10.03.2025, 11:44 MEZ
Datenpartner
ZBW - Deutsche Zentralbibliothek für Wirtschaftswissenschaften - Leibniz-Informationszentrum Wirtschaft. Bei Fragen zum Objekt wenden Sie sich bitte an den Datenpartner.
Objekttyp
- Arbeitspapier
Beteiligte
- Schwandt, Hannes
- Deutsches Institut für Wirtschaftsforschung (DIW)
Entstanden
- 2013
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