WELLSIM - A life course microsimulation perspective on multi-dimensional well-being in five Europen countries

• Applicant: Dr. Kerstin Bruckmeier
• Subject Area: Empirical Social Research ; Public Health, Healthcare Research, Social and Occupational Medicine ; Economic Policy, Applied Economics
• Term: since 2024
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 539817120

The vision of WELLSIM is to produce a step-change in the analysis of well-being and associated inequalities. An innovative life course approach will be adopted that accommodates multiple life domains and time scales, integrating insights from diverse disciplines, including economics, demography, psychology, public health, epidemiology and sociology. Significant attention has been drawn recently to how measures of well-being differ across age groups, how individual and macro challenges affect well-being differently at different ages, and how the relationship between age and well-being has been changing over time. However, data limitations mean that a life course perspective on well-being, explaining not only how well-being is impacted by external events at different ages, but also how well-being subsequently evolves, and the ability of individuals (and societies) to absorb negative shocks, has being lacking, despite being repeatedly advocated for. WELLSIM intends to go beyond cross-sectional snapshots of well-being, and extend analysis to longitudinal measures of well-being, from average and variability of well-being over a period of time to lifetime well-being. To achieve such advances in measurement and analysis, we will rely on a novel microsimulation approach to well-being. This will allow us to overcome limitations of existing data sources, and integrate within the analytical framework a detailed description of the policy environment, with its effectiveness in addressing key determinants of well-being. Our approach permits counterfactual analyses to address two overarching research themes: (1) What is the impact of individual- and macro-level crises in shaping the evolution of well-being over the life course? (2) How can public policy improve well-being, reduce well-being inequalities, and increase individual and societal resilience? Analysis will cover 5 European countries representative of different welfare regimes: liberal or Anglo-Saxon (UK), continental or conservative (Germany), Mediterranean (Spain), Nordic or Scandinavian (Sweden), and Eastern European or post-Communist (Poland).

• DFG Programme: Research Grants
• International Connection: Poland, Spain, Sweden, United Kingdom
• Cooperation Partners: Dr. Michal Brzezinski; Professor Concepció Patxot; Professor Matteo Richiardi; Professor Mikael Rostila