> I wouldn't lean too heavily on my own experience - anecdotal impressions are
> generally crap - but I'm currently living in a territory with a 45.2%
> unemployment rate, and I simply don't see your claims at work here. But
> prove that the effects of unemployment you describe are inherent to the
> situation itself, rather than its cultural context, and I'll admit you were
> right.
I think the 45.2% unemployment rate has a lot to do with this. Another finding in this literature is a "social norm effect" -- individual unemployment causes less unhappiness in areas where unemployment is common. I would imagine a 45% unemployment rate would really do wonders on this score, especially since in Gaza everyone knows it's being imposed by a hostile blockade.
See:
http://ideas.repec.org/a/ucp/jlabec/v21y2003i2p289-322.html http://psydok.sulb.uni-saarland.de/volltexte/2008/1685/pdf/dp396.pdf http://ideas.repec.org/p/zur/iewwpx/051.html http://halshs.archives-ouvertes.fr/docs/00/58/60/22/PDF/wp200867.pdf
SA