Wellbeing and Fertility, a Two Way Relationship
MANAGEMENT |

Wellbeing and Fertility, a Two Way Relationship

THE ERC PROJECT OF LETIZIA MENCARINI HIGHLIGHTS THAT THE HAPPINESS OF MOTHERS IS GREATER THAN OF NON MOTHERS ONLY WHERE AN ADEQUATE WELFARE SYSTEM EXISTS

In some countries fertility rates are lower than in others, even if their citizens live in similar socioeconomic conditions. In order to explain these differences, Letizia Mencarini (Department of Management and Technology) introduced the subjective well-being variable and studied its relations with fertility behavior in both comparative and longitudinal perspectives. “There is no universal formula. Having children may have a positive or a negative effect on subjective well-being depending on wealth, welfare, gender. In turn, subjective well-being affects the fertility behavior”.
 
The happiness level is the object of a paper based on European data which is part of the ERC-funded project Subjective Well-Being and Fertility (SWELL-FER), hosted by Dondena Centre for Research on Social Dynamics and Public Policy: in the presence of a generous welfare system, mothers are on average more happier than non-mothers. Fathers, however, are happier than non-fathers regardless of welfare policies. “Australian individual data tell us that there is much heterogeneity among parents and a proper work-life balance can fully mitigate the negative consequences of having the first child”.
 
According to a line of psychological studies, subjective well-being depends mainly on personality traits, which would make any family policy ineffective. “We proved it wrong in a research based on German data: even when you take into account the personality traits, a higher subjective well-being more frequently leads to having a child and it is especially true for second born sons”.
 
Now there is the will to focus on Italy, but unfortunately there are no adequate longitudinal datasets for the country. “We have found better data in Ethiopia, where fertility is very high and it is gratifying to fathers more than to mothers, especially in old age”.

Read here the other articles on the ERC research projects:
The Dream Team of Research made in..ERC
University at the Time of Star Wars
The Culture That Influences Demography
For a History of Inequality in Europe
Fostering Solidarity in Times of Migrations
A Theory of Games and Emotions
Why with Broadband We will have More Children
How to Communicate Climate Science
At the Birth of Maritime Insurance
Even Distorted Choices can be Rational
The Psychology of Economic Behavior
Great Expectations for Great Objectives
What we are Certain about Uncertainty
Putting a Halt to the Spread of Infections
The Role of Financial Imperfections
The World Through the Lens of Power
The Selection of the Political Class
How to Evaluate Innovative Ideas
A Help for Those who make Predictions
When a Government is Guided by Values
 

 

by Claudio Todesco
Bocconi Knowledge newsletter

News

  • Caselli, Ventoruzzo and Mosca Join the Committee for the Reform of Capital Markets

    The activities will lead to the new Consolidated Text  

  • Bocconi Research Excellence Awards 2024

    Faculty whose publications have been accepted by the most prestigious journals or publishers honored  

Seminars

  August 2020  
Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat Sun
          1 2
3 4 5 6 7 8 9
10 11 12 13 14 15 16
17 18 19 20 21 22 23
24 25 26 27 28 29 30
31            

Seminars

  • Jacopo Perego: Competitive Markets for Personal Data

    JACOPO PEREGO - Columbia Business School

    Room 3-E4-SR03 (Rontgen)

  • Alessia Caponera - Multiscale CUSUM tests for time-dependent spherical random fields

    ALESSIA CAPONERA - LUISS

    Room 3-E4-SR03 (Roentgen)