The best years of an older European's life

Alvarez, B. The best years of older Europeans' lives. Soc Indic Res (2021) https://doi.org/10.1007/s11205-021-02804-6

Commentary

This study provides new evidence on life-cycle patterns of well-being.

The novelty of the analysis is the use of information about the periods of time that individuals recall as being the happiest in their lives.

The data comes from SHARELIFE 2008 / 09, a retrospective life survey conducted in 13 European countries among individuals aged 50 and older.

These are used to create a longitudinal dataset spanning the entire life span of the respondents, and the probability of living the happiest years of life at each age is estimated by a conditional fixed effects logit model.

The results show that the likelihood of living the happiest years of one's life shows a concave relationship with age, with a tipping point at about 30-34 years of age and a declining trend thereafter.

However, in retrospect, there is a difference in that middle age is not perceived to be the happiest time of life.