{"id":{"repo_id":"buffalo","oai_identifier":"oai:ubir.buffalo.edu:10477/78540"},"canonical_url":"https://search.dev.ndltd.org/etd/buffalo/oai:ubir.buffalo.edu:10477/78540","repository":{"repo_id":"buffalo","name":"Buffalo","base_url":"https://ubir.buffalo.edu/oai/request"},"display":{"title":"Essays on Behavioral Labor Economics","abstract":"Ph.D.","abstract_html":"Ph.D.","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Luo, Jianbo"],"institution":"State University of New York at Buffalo","degree_name":null,"degree_level":null,"degree_discipline":null,"degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":["Rao, Neel","Economics"],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2018,"date_issued":"2018-10-26T02:55:04Z","date_published":"2018-10-26T02:55:04Z","updated_at":"2026-07-27T19:05:12Z","subjects":["economics"],"languages":["eng"],"rights":["Users of works found in University at Buffalo Institutional Repository (UBIR) are responsible for identifying and contacting the copyright owner for permission to reuse. University at Buffalo Libraries do not manage rights for copyright-protected works and cannot assist with permissions.","Copyright retained by author."],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"http://hdl.handle.net/10477/78540","outbound_label":"Handle","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor","label":"Contributor","values":["Rao, Neel","Economics"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Luo, Jianbo"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date","label":"Dc Date","values":["2018-10-26T02:55:04Z","2018","2018-07-30 14:32:23"]},{"key":"dc:publisher","label":"Institution","values":["State University of New York at Buffalo"]},{"key":"dc:type","label":"Dc Type","values":["Text","Dissertation"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["economics"]}]},{"id":"language_rights","label":"Language and Rights","entries":[{"key":"dc:language","label":"Dc Language","values":["eng"]},{"key":"dc:rights","label":"Dc Rights","values":["Users of works found in University at Buffalo Institutional Repository (UBIR) are responsible for identifying and contacting the copyright owner for permission to reuse. University at Buffalo Libraries do not manage rights for copyright-protected works and cannot assist with permissions.","Copyright retained by author."]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["http://hdl.handle.net/10477/78540"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description","label":"Description","values":["Ph.D.","In Chapter 1 I estimate the role of pecuniary factors in the relationship between unemployment and subjective well-being. The happiness literature finds that unemployment substantially decreases subjective well-being even after controlling for income. Whereas existing research uses non-pecuniary costs to explain such results, the present study suggests that the root cause is pecuniary. The detrimental effects of unemployment decrease considerably after including an additional control for pecuniary costs, subjective financial evaluation. Non-pecuniary theories have less explanatory power than, but are compatible with, pecuniary factors. Moreover, non-pecuniary explanations contain both pecuniary and non-pecuniary channels. Policy implications are discussed. In Chapter 2 I use pecuniary factors to explain why unemployment has heterogeneous effects on subjective well-being. Using German Socio-Economic Panel (GSOEP) data, this chapter finds that both subjective and objective income measures mediate the negative effects of unemployment and explain its heterogeneous effects on happiness. There may be an increase in subjective well-being among unemployed individuals who have a household income greater than the minimum required for their current living standard or who do not suffer a decrease in their subjective financial evaluation. Policy implications for taxation and unemployment insurance are discussed. In Chapter 3 I investigate in-work benefits, labor supply and optimal taxation. I find that in-work benefits recipients tend to increase labor income, regardless of the benefits structure. A theory, the fixed cost of living, is used to explain this finding. Several applications of this theory are given. First, a discussion shows why empirical papers are inconsistent. Second, using wage income elasticity to calculate the optimal marginal tax rate is misleading for low income earners. Finally, in-work benefits should be part of optimal labor income taxation."]},{"key":"dc:format","label":"Dc Format","values":["application/pdf"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["Essays on Behavioral Labor Economics"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor":["Rao, Neel","Economics"],"dc:creator":["Luo, Jianbo"],"dc:date":["2018-10-26T02:55:04Z","2018","2018-07-30 14:32:23"],"dc:description":["Ph.D.","In Chapter 1 I estimate the role of pecuniary factors in the relationship between unemployment and subjective well-being. The happiness literature finds that unemployment substantially decreases subjective well-being even after controlling for income. Whereas existing research uses non-pecuniary costs to explain such results, the present study suggests that the root cause is pecuniary. The detrimental effects of unemployment decrease considerably after including an additional control for pecuniary costs, subjective financial evaluation. Non-pecuniary theories have less explanatory power than, but are compatible with, pecuniary factors. Moreover, non-pecuniary explanations contain both pecuniary and non-pecuniary channels. Policy implications are discussed. In Chapter 2 I use pecuniary factors to explain why unemployment has heterogeneous effects on subjective well-being. Using German Socio-Economic Panel (GSOEP) data, this chapter finds that both subjective and objective income measures mediate the negative effects of unemployment and explain its heterogeneous effects on happiness. There may be an increase in subjective well-being among unemployed individuals who have a household income greater than the minimum required for their current living standard or who do not suffer a decrease in their subjective financial evaluation. Policy implications for taxation and unemployment insurance are discussed. In Chapter 3 I investigate in-work benefits, labor supply and optimal taxation. I find that in-work benefits recipients tend to increase labor income, regardless of the benefits structure. A theory, the fixed cost of living, is used to explain this finding. Several applications of this theory are given. First, a discussion shows why empirical papers are inconsistent. Second, using wage income elasticity to calculate the optimal marginal tax rate is misleading for low income earners. Finally, in-work benefits should be part of optimal labor income taxation."],"dc:format":["application/pdf"],"dc:identifier":["http://hdl.handle.net/10477/78540"],"dc:language":["eng"],"dc:publisher":["State University of New York at Buffalo"],"dc:rights":["Users of works found in University at Buffalo Institutional Repository (UBIR) are responsible for identifying and contacting the copyright owner for permission to reuse. University at Buffalo Libraries do not manage rights for copyright-protected works and cannot assist with permissions.","Copyright retained by author."],"dc:subject":["economics"],"dc:title":["Essays on Behavioral Labor Economics"],"dc:type":["Text","Dissertation"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-27T19:05:12Z"}