Abstract
We use British panel data to explore the link between occupational status and life satisfaction. We find puzzling evidence for men of a U-shaped relationship in cross-section data: employees in medium-status occupations report lower life satisfaction scores than those of employees in either low- or high-status occupations. This puzzle disappears in panel data: the satisfaction of any man rises as he moves up the status ladder. The culprit seems to be immobility: the miserable middle is caused by men who have always been in medium-status occupations. There is overall little evidence of a link between occupational status and life satisfaction for women, although this relationship for higher-educated women does look more like that for men.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 509-527 |
| Number of pages | 19 |
| Journal | Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization |
| Volume | 204 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - 1 Dec 2022 |
Keywords
- Occupational status
- Life satisfaction
- Occupational mobility