1. Income and the Happiness of Canadian 12 to 15 Year Olds P. Burton and S. Phipps Dalhousie University

2.  Associations between adult income and happiness much studied  Little research on same question for children, yet might expect differences: Children have limited information about family finances Parents may shelter children Income less a measure of personal success Yet, children especially vulnerable to peer pressure and marketing? P. Burton and S. Phipps

3.  Use National Longitudinal Survey of Children and Youth to ask: 1. Is there a relationship between family income and child self-reported happiness? 2. Given family income, does relative socioeconomic status matter? 3. Are results the same for boys and girls? P. Burton and S. Phipps

4. 1. Brief discussion of literature 2. Data and Methods 3. Econometric results 4. Conclude P. Burton and S. Phipps

5.  Higher happiness with higher own income, especially in lower-income countries (e.g., Helliwell and Putnam, 2004)  But, lower happiness with higher neighbour’s income (e.g., Barrington- Leigh and Helliwell, 2008; Luttmer, 2005) P. Burton and S. Phipps

6.  Little research on associations between income and happiness of children by economists P. Burton and S. Phipps

7. 1. Children can provide meaningful assessments of own well-being by age 8 2. Self assessments correlate well with, yet differ from other measures of mental health 3. Parent and child assessments correlate well 4. Child/youth reports of quality of life are predictive of future outcomes (Huebner, 2004) P. Burton and S. Phipps

8.  National Longitudinal Survey of Children and Youth (NLSCY), 1994-2004  Pool 3 4-year panels, with child 12 t o 15 in final year (1994-2000; 1996-2002; 1998- 2004)  Children 12 to 15 self assess happiness (complete questionnaire privately)  Mother provides other data used here  Restrict to two-parent families (5,579 obs) P. Burton and S. Phipps

9.  “In general, I am happy with how things are for me in my life now.” Strongly Agree Agree Disagree Strongly Disagree P. Burton and S. Phipps

11.  Estimate ordered probit models; key explanatory variables are 4-cycle average family income and median neighbourhood income  Neighbourhood income from 2001 census at ‘forward sortation area’ level (1591 in Canada; Halifax has 27) P. Burton and S. Phipps

12.  Control variables use mother-reported information  Also add control for mother’s report that child was ‘never unhappy’ 4 years earlier P. Burton and S. Phipps

13.  Child-related covariates: age (mean = 13.5); only child (22.2%); non-white (7.2%); chronic condition (29.8%)  Parent or family context: mother’s education (39.2% high school or less); immigrant parent (21.6%); religious attendance of parent, family move in last year; region, rural P. Burton and S. Phipps

14.  Family income has a positive relationship with self-reported young teen happiness  Long-run average family income has larger and more precisely estimated relationship than current income  Neighbourhood income has a negative relationship (nearly as large), especially for boys  Robust to controlling mother’s report on earlier child happiness P. Burton and S. Phipps

15.  Use estimated ordered probit coefficients to calculate probabilities  ‘Base’ is ‘most representative’ Canadian teen, with all categorical variables equal to zero; continuous variables = sample mean  Separate calculations for boys/girls using own coefficients but starting from same pooled boy/girl means P. Burton and S. Phipps

16. 1. Average income family in average income neighbourhood (Base) 2. 50% of average income family; average income neighbourhood 3. Neighbourhood income 50% of mean; average income family P. Burton and S. Phipps

17. Young Teen Boys (%)Young Teen Girls (%) Strongly Disagree or Disagree AgreeStrongly Agree Strongly Disagree or Disagree AgreeStrongly Agree Av Family Income; Av Neighbourhood Income 5.254.140.86.356.337.4 50% Av Family Income; Av Neighbourhood Income 7.058.035.08.960.330.8 Av Family Income; 50% Av Neighbourhood Income 3.347.948.74.952.842.3

18.  Results for young teens are qualitatively similar to those available for adults (though not directly comparable)  Self-assessed happiness increases with family income, but negative consumption externalities apparent (especially for teen boys) P. Burton and S. Phipps