Recession , Religion , and Happiness , 2006 – 2010

The General Social Survey panel of 2006-2010 tracked Americans’ reactions to the election of Barack Obama and the Great Recession (officially lasting from December 2007 to March 2009) as well as to events in their personal lives. Americans were less happy in 2010 than in 2006; the percent “very happy” decreased by four percentage points and the percent “not too happy” increased almost as much. In the cross section, standard predictors — including church attendance, family income, and marital status — continued to matter. Looking from the dynamic perspective of the panel study, though, we see that job loss and changing family incomes mattered far more. Changes in marital status were also important for changing morale; marrying made people happier while divorcing made them unhappy. The subjective sense that finances were improving mediated a significant portion of the income-happiness association. The effects of unemployment and marriage are estimated in a way that supports the inference that finding a job or a mate actually causes happiness to increase. Recession, Religion, and Happiness, 2006–2010