Using pooled cross-sectional data (eight waves of the European Social Survey), this work analysed how the regional unemployment rate influences the well-being disadvantages of the unemployed. We estimate region fixed effects and slopes models that, unlike the standard region fixed effects approach, provide an unbiased estimate of the cross-level interaction term (between being unemployed and the unemployment rate) in the absence of unobserved time-variant confounders. The results show that the satisfaction disadvantage of the unemployed (relative to the employed) is larger when the regional unemployment rate is higher. Smaller and insignificant differences were found regarding happiness. These results are in line with the argument that worse re-employment perspectives in high-unemployment regions may be particularly harmful to unemployed people. These results do not contradict the claim that, in regions with a weaker social norm to work, unemployed people may be more satisfied. Instead, they suggest that the unemployment rate does not reflect the social norm to work.

中文翻译：

---

失业率是否缓解了失业者的福祉劣势？欧洲社会调查的区域内估计

这项工作利用汇总的横截面数据（欧洲社会调查的八波），分析了地区失业率如何影响失业者的福祉劣势。我们估计区域固定效应和斜率模型，与标准区域固定效应方法不同，在没有未观察到的时变混杂因素的情况下，提供跨级别交互项（失业和失业率之间）的无偏估计。结果表明，地区失业率越高，失业者（相对于就业者）满意度劣势越大。在幸福感方面发现了较小且微不足道的差异。这些结果与高失业率地区再就业前景较差可能对失业人员特别有害的论点相一致。这些结果与以下说法并不矛盾：在工作社会规范较弱的地区，失业者可能会更满意。相反，他们认为失业率并不反映工作的社会规范。