Melbourne Institute of Applied Economic and Social Research - Research Publications

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    Panel Conditioning and Subjective Well-being
    Wooden, M ; Li, N (SPRINGER, 2014-05)
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    A Demonstration of Set-Points for Subjective Wellbeing
    Cummins, RA ; Li, N ; Wooden, M ; Stokes, M (Springer Nature, 2014-02-15)
    This paper presents evidence for the existence of ‘set-points’ for subjective wellbeing. Our results derive from a 10-year longitudinal study in which subjective wellbeing has been measured using a single question of general life satisfaction. The process of data analysis is driven by logic based on the theory of subjective wellbeing homeostasis. This analysis involves the iterative elimination of raw data, from 7,356 individual respondents, based on confidence limits. All results are projected onto a 0–100 point scale. We demonstrate evidence for the existence of set-points lying between 71 and 90 points, with an average set-point-range of 18–20 points for each person. The implications and limitations of these findings are discussed.
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    Work-Related Training and the Probability of Transitioning from Non-Permanent to Permanent Employment
    Mcvicar, D ; Wooden, M ; Leung, F ; Li, N (Wiley, 2016-01-01)
    It is widely believed that work-related training increases a worker's probability of moving up the job-quality ladder. This is usually couched in terms of effects on wages, but it has also been argued that training increases the probability of moving from non-permanent forms of employment to more permanent employment. This hypothesis is tested using nationally representative panel data for Australia, a country where the incidence of non-permanent employment, and especially casual employment, is high by international standards. While a positive association between participation in work-related training and the subsequent probability of moving from either casual or fixed-term contract employment to permanent employment is observed among men, this is shown to be driven not by a causal impact of training on transitions but by differences between those who do and do not receive training, that is selection bias.
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    Ageing, Death and Life Satisfaction: Evidence from the Household, Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia Survey
    Wooden, M ; Li, N (Wiley, 2016-12-01)
    Does subjective well-being rise or fall with age or are most people, especially those in old age, sufficiently resilient that levels of subjective well-being are very stable over the life course? This article uses longitudinal data from the Household, Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia Survey and finds that self-reported life satisfaction among a large sample of Australians does vary over time. Nevertheless, over much of adulthood—between ages 25 and 65 years—the range in this variation is very small. As people enter old age, however, life satisfaction falls quite sharply. Furthermore, this fall does not appear to be entirely driven by mortality, with the decline beginning many years prior to death.