The Subjective Well-being Crisis of Young Canadian Adults: The Role of Financial Insecurity and Economic Stress

Haifang Huang and John Helliwell

No 2026-05, Working Papers from University of Alberta, Department of Economics

Abstract: Using the Canadian sample of the Gallup World Poll, we document large declines in subjective well-being (SWB) among young adults (20–34), measured by the Cantril life ladder, alongside rising food and shelter insecurity, worsening perceptions of local housing affordability and job climate, and deteriorating living standards. Oaxaca-type decompositions show that these economic stressors account for nearly half of young adults’ decline in their average Cantril life evaluation from the 2005-14 baseline period to the 2023-25 cost-of-living crisis, and 38-58%, depending on specifications, of the widening in the evaluation gap between the youngest (20–34) and oldest (65+) groups.

Housing stands out. Dissatisfaction with local housing affordability is the biggest contributing factor among young adults, but is less important for older groups. Analysis using Teranet House Price Index (HPI) shows that rises in local house prices worsen affordability perceptions across all age groups; they also predict lower life evaluations among young adults, but not among seniors.

In contrast, changes in eight non-economic domain measures (covering self-reported health, social support, trust, perceived respect, and prosocial activity) contribute little to young adults’ life-evaluation decline. We interpret the evidence as indicating that the happiness crisis among young Canadians is, to a large degree, an economic crisis.

Keywords: subjective well-being; generation; demographics (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: E24 H23 J64 J68 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 56
Date: 2026-04
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:ris:albaec:022456

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