Well-being During the Pandemic: Comparative Perspectives from the Global North and South

This open access book focuses on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on well-being, happiness and quality of life, taking into account the mediating effects of social inequalities. The volume brings together and into dialogue the different experiences and perspectives of countries and researchers from the Global North and South. Expert scholars from across the world have analyzed empirical data to reveal how the restrictions associated with the pandemic interrupted lives and livelihoods, and how different socio-economic groups and classes have been differently affected by the crisis. The chapters coalesce around four themes: the impact of COVID-19 on subjective well-being, life satisfaction and happiness in a comparative and longitudinal perspective; the impact of COVID-19 on employment and workers’ well-being; sociability, civic participation and solidarity during COVID-19; and the impact of COVID-19 on children’s and youths’ well-being. Engaging with contemporary theoretical debates on well-being, happiness and quality of life, this volume is of interest to scholars working on well-being, happiness and quality of life, global and cross-national studies, the social impact of COVID-19, and on social and economic change.

Christian Suter is Professor Emeritus of Sociology at the University of Neuchâtel (Switzerland). After receiving his PhD in sociology from the University of Zurich, he was Visiting Scholar at the Colegio de México, Visiting Professor at the Friedrich-Schiller University Jena, Assistant Professor of Sociology at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology, Zurich, and Full Professor of Sociology at the University of Neuchâtel. He is currently doing research on social indicators and quality of life, and on globalization and world society. His earlier research has focused on social and economic inequalities and poverty, sovereign debt and global debt crises, social and political transformations in Latin America, and social support and health. He has published and edited more than 40 books and special issues, as well as many articles in international social sciences journals, encyclopedia, and volumes. His most recent book publications include The Global Politics of Census Taking (Routledge 2024), Measuring Gender Equality (Springer 2023), African-Asian Relations (LIT 2022), Measuring and Understanding Complex Phenomena (Springer 2021), The Middle Class in World Society (Routledge 2020), and Wealth(s) and Subjective Well-being (Springer 2019). He is the winner of the Book Award of the American Sociological Association, Political Economy of the World-System Section (1993) and has been awarded the Fritz Thyssen Prize for articles in social sciences journals (1998), and the Research Fellow Award from the International Society for Quality-of-Life Studies for substantial contribution to quality-of-life research (2020).

Jenny Chesters is Associate Professor in the Faculty of Education at the University of Melbourne. Her PhD was awarded by the University of Queensland in 2009. She is currently coordinating the Capstone subject for the Master of Education and is a Chief Investigator of the Australian Research Council-funded Life Patterns project. Her recent publications include: School-to-work transition and subjective well-being in Australia (2021, British Journal of Sociology); Cross-national comparison of age and period effects on levels of subjective well-being in Australia and Switzerland during volatile economic times (2001- 2016) (2020, Social Indicators Research). She is also the editor of the Research Handbook on Transitions into Adulthood (2024, Edward Elgar) and a sub-section editor for the Child and Youth Studies Handbook, 2nd Edition (2024, Springer). Her research interests include comparative perspectives on subjective well-being, social stratification, and transitions between education and employment throughout the life course.

Sandra Fachelli is Associate Professor at the Department of Sociology, Pablo de Olavide University, Spain. She has a post-doctorate degree in social science from the University of Buenos Aires (UBA), a PhD in Sociology from the Autonomous University of Barcelona (UAB), a diploma of Advanced Studies in sociology, as well as master’s degrees in Introduction to Research in Sociology (UAB) and in Design and Management of Policies and Social Programs (FLACSO Argentina). She is teaching coordinator and professor of the master’s program in Applied Social Research Techniques (TISA) co-coordinated by UAB and Barcelona University. She is currently president of the Research Committee 06 “Inequality and Social Stratification” of the Spanish Federation of Sociology (FES), collaborating researcher of the Research Group on Education and Work (GRET) of the Autonomous University of Barcelona, and vice-president of RC55 “Social Indicators” of the International Sociological Association. Her most recent books are Measuring Gender Equality (Springer 2023), Towards a Comparative Analysis of Social Inequalities between Europe and Latin America (2021), and Perspectivas y fronteras en el estudio de la desigualdad social: movilidad social y clases sociales en tiempos de cambio (2020). Her main research areas include inequality, stratification and social mobility, higher education and work.