Financial Insecurity, Economic Stress, and the Decline of Subjective Well-Being Among Young Adults in English-Speaking Advanced Economies

Haifang Huang and John Helliwell

No 2026-06, Working Papers from University of Alberta, Department of Economics

Abstract: Using Gallup World Poll data (2005–2025) for six English-speaking advanced economies, we estimate how much of the decline in young adults’ subjective well-being (SWB), measured by the Cantril life ladder, can be accounted for by rising financial insecurity and economic stress. In the four non-European countries (Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and the U.S.), five measures of economic hardship (food and shelter insecurity, housing unaffordability, worsening living standards, and negative job-climate perceptions) explain 41–67% of the young-adult SWB decline from the pre-2015 baseline to the post-pandemic period (2023–2025). Housing costs are the largest contributor in three of the four. The economic channel is stronger for young adults than for seniors. In contrast, eight non-economic measures covering health, social support, institutional trust, and prosocial behavior contribute little.

Ireland and the U.K. tell a different story. Economic hardship explains half of Ireland’s Great Financial Crisis decline but little of the post-GFC trajectory, where rising housing unaffordability partially offsets labour-market improvements. In the U.K., it explains little of the SWB swings from an already-low base. In both countries, young adults’ optimism about their future has eroded in recent years, an observation that may be relevant to the other four countries with more recent SWB declines.

Keywords: subjective well-being; life satisfaction; financial insecurity; economic stress; housing affordability; young adults (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: E24 H23 I31 J13 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 61
Date: 2026-04
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:ris:albaec:022457

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