Coping Strategies, well-being and inequalities during the COVID-19 pandemic period

As a response to the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, governments around the globe have carried on strict lockdown measures affecting millions of jobs, public life, and the well-being of people. This study examines people's subjective well-being, such as the perception of the economic situation and mental well-being, who made adjustments to cope with the earning losses. We estimate the well-being cost, which is the money required to compensate people because of the reduction in earnings or employment loss and the coping strategy followed to bring their well-being to the levels of those who have not adopted any coping strategy. We examine two outcomes; the perception of the economic situation and a mental well-being index. We employ data from the ERF COVID-19 MENA Monitor Surveys for Egypt, Jordan, Morocco and Tunisia. The results show that coping strategies with earning losses impact well-being and are associated with high costs. In most cases, the coping strategies of borrowing from banks and selling assets present the highest well-being costs. Furthermore, the estimates highlight significant discrepancies across gender and types of workers, such as those employed in the informal sector and temporary contracts.

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s12144-023-04710-1.