Work Packages

The AgeWellAccounts (AWA) project focuses on the measurement and analysis of wellbeing from a life course perspective. The project is structured into three work packages that capture the following dimensions of wellbeing: (1) economic welfare, (2) time use, and (3) health and subjective wellbeing measures.

Work Package 1: Economic Welfare

Work package 1 focuses on generating economic wellbeing indicators from micro-data as well as their analysis from a life course perspective. By such analysis we obtain insight into the change of economic wellbeing over the life course and the influence of certain life course events on wellbeing, for example, having a child or getting retired. Additionally, we analyse disparities in economic wellbeing within and between generations by studying the access to and distribution of economic resources. In particular, we study labour income, wealth, social transfers, measures of poverty and social exclusion as well as people’s self-perception of their personal economic situation. The responsibility for work package 1 is with OEAW-VID.

Work Package 2: Time Use

The way people spend their time has been identified as a key aspect of wellbeing. Economic hardship and difficulties in certain life situations often appear more obvious in terms of time use rather than economic variables. Therefore, we generate and analyse gender‑ and age-specific indicators of time use, including objective measures as well as measures of subjective perception. Of particular interest are time use indicators known to be related to wellbeing, such as total working hours, the frequency of social activities, the subjective feeling of time pressure, and the general satisfaction with one’s use of time. The research in WP2 will mostly be carried out by the team at Sapienza University, in close collaboration with OEAW-VID.

Work Package 3: Health and Subjective Wellbeing Measures

An important aspect of personal wellbeing is the subjective perception of one’s situation, for example self-rated health. Analysing self-reported indicators can reveal perceived and actual difficulties at certain stages in life, which are not visible only through “objective” measures such as income or time use. However, these subjective measures are also influenced by economic wellbeing and other socio-economic characteristics. Shedding light on this interdependency by exploiting micro-data and conducting experiments is one of the aims within the AWA project. Due to the interdisciplinary nature of this work package, the responsibility will be shared between OEAW-VID, Sapienza University and the Paris School of Economics.