If your partner unexpected loses their job, how much does it impact your well-being? Assistant professor Milena Nikolova explains her research on the topic of spousal unemployment and happiness in the new episode of podcast Econ 050.

"We find that unemployment has pretty bad negative consequences for the life satisfaction of the indirectly affected spouse," Nikolova said in her interview with host Traci White.

"[Employers] need to keep in mind that when they’re laying off people they are let’s say unintended consequences and spillovers for spouses and also other family members such as kids, as other research shows. So perhaps these numbers and these calculations can also inform the design of severance pay."

You can listen to the full episode online here. Econ 050 is made in collaboration between the faculty and The Northern Times, an English-language newspaper covering Groningen, Friesland and Drenthe in the northern Netherlands.