Parental unemployment and adolescents’ subjective wellbeing—the moderating role of educational policies

Abstract

Crossover effects of parental unemployment on subjective wellbeing of children attract growing attention in research on social inequalities. Recent economic crises call for identifying policies that mitigate the adverse effects of unemployment. Building on the theoretical insights from Capability Approach, we examine the relationship between parental unemployment and subjective wellbeing of adolescents across countries with different educational policies. We use multilevel modelling and data from the European Union Statistics on Income and Living Conditions (EU-SILC). We combine microdata on 45,992 adolescents in 32 countries with macro-level indicators of educational policies. We find that parental unemployment is associated with lower subjective wellbeing among adolescents, but the magnitude of this association varies depending on access to financial support for participation in education. Adolescents who receive educational allowances and who live in countries with broader access to such support are less harmed by parental unemployment.