Chapter 16is offset by improved civic behavior. The policy conclusion
as we shall see later is to concentrate more on the quality of
education and less on its quantity.
By contrast unemployment is unambiguously bad. When
one more person becomes unemployed, that person’s hap-
piness falls by 0.7 points, on top of the effect of her lost
income. And the aggregate loss of happiness in the commu-
nity is another 2.0 points. The quality of work also matters:
if the quality of work index improves by one standard devi-
ation, life- satisfaction rises by 0.4 points.
Partnering is likewise unambiguously good. It brings joy
to the individual and on average improves the social envi-
ronment for others. The coefficients on partnering, separa-
tion, and widowhood in the table are cross- sectional, and
the panel estimates are about half as large. Even so, this
evidence on partnering, separation, widowhood, and un-
employment all points strongly to the importance of social
relationships for human happiness. With separation and
widowhood there is serious loss when these events hap-
pen, followed by some adaptation. But on average people
do not return to the level of happiness that they had when
partnered.
When it comes to having young children, the evidence in
panel studies is that, when the child is born, there is great
joy. But happiness soon returns almost to its former level.
We have little evidence on the effects of older children who
have left home, but what there is suggests they are a blessing
if they keep in touch.^9
Illness is of course a major source of unhappiness. De-
pression or anxiety disorder reduces happiness by 0.72 points,
whereas one of a list of physical illnesses costs 0.22 points
of happiness.