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This paper analyses the effects of unemployment and social provision on population well-being in ten European countries. We argue that the nature of the linkages between well-being and unemployment rate is non-linear, by identifying the presence of a threshold in unemployment by means of the Hansen test (1999, 2000). Happiness was found to be negatively affected by the unemployment rate both in the presence of linearity in unemployment and under the two regimes determined by the identified threshold. Our results show that social provision, as a whole, and health-care benefits in particular negatively affect happiness while spending on unemployment protection and active labour policies have a positive impact on the well-being suggesting a different allocation of social resources. Furthermore, these non-linear linkages would help the policy-makers to take into account different groups when making decisions about the allocation of social resources. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The possible linkage between environmental regulation and happiness represents a relatively new and little explored issue. This study wants to contribute to this recent stream of research by examining the long-run relationship between environmental protection expenditure and happiness in the case of European countries. The analysis draws both on micro data from Veenhoven's (2013) World Database of Happiness and macro data of 19 European countries observed during the period 1997–2019. A dynamic panel heterogeneity analysis through an autoregressive distributed lag model is applied, using three different estimators: the dynamic fixed effect, the mean group and the pooled mean group estimators. In order to account for cross-sectional dependence of the panel, Westerlund cointegration tests are also used. Dynamic fixed effect estimations highlight the existence of a direct link between happiness and environmental protection expenditure in the long run while the unemployment rate negatively affects happiness both in the short and in the long run. Our analysis recommends governments to include environmental expenditure among possible instruments to improve domestic well-being, highlighting the importance of the interplay between environmental quality and life satisfaction. The last aspect is crucial when implementing national and European policy measures to promote sustainable development. • Happiness cannot represent a secondary objective in environmental decision-making. • Link between environmental protection spending and happiness is explored in the case of 19 European Countries. • Dynamic panel heterogeneity analysis through an autoregressive distributed lag model is applied. • Results evidence a long-run equilibrium among happiness and environmental expenditure. • Unemployment has a negative short and long-run impact on happiness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]