Template-type: ReDIF-Paper 1.0
Author-Name: Gassmann, Franziska
Author-Email: gassmann@merit.unu.edu
Author-Workplace-Name: UNU-MERIT, Maastricht University
Author-Name: Martorano, Bruno
Author-Email: martorano@merit.unu.edu
Author-Workplace-Name: UNU-MERIT, Maastricht University
Author-Name: Waidler, Jennifer
Author-Email: waidler@merit.unu.edu
Author-Workplace-Name: UNU-MERIT, and UNICEF Office of Research - Innocenti
Title: How social assistance affects subjective Well-being: Lessons from Kyrgyzstan
Abstract: This paper investigates the effects of social assistance on subjective
	 well-being looking at the case of Kyrgyzstan. For this purpose, we
	 exploit recent changes in the design of social assistance and apply a
	 difference in difference (DiD) method combined with an inverse
	 probability weighting (IPW) technique. In contrast to the existing
	 literature, we find that the receipt of social assistance benefits is
	 associated with lower levels of subjective well-being. Our findings also
	 reveal that participation in social assistance leads to some reduction
	 in satisfaction regarding recipients' own economic conditions. Moreover,
	 we find that the negative effects on subjective well-being disappear for
	 the oldest generations, which experienced the dissolution of the Soviet
	 Union. By contrast, the effect is negative for the youth, who grew up in
	 a new society where needing help is ultimately the responsibility of the
	 individual citizen. For individuals with high trust in political
	 institutions, the negative effect of state intervention does not hold,
	 while it persists in case of low trust in political institutions.
Classification-JEL: I31, I38, P36
Keywords: subjective well-being, social assistance, institutional trust, Soviet Union,
	 Kyrgyz Republic
Series: UNU-MERIT Working Papers
Creation-Date: 20210318
Number: 2021-013
File-URL: https://unu-merit.nl/publications/wppdf/2021/wp2021-013.pdf
File-Format: application/pdf
File-Size: 275 Kb
Handle: RePEc:unm:unumer:2021013