COVID-19 and Well-being
Life in the Pandemic
COVID-19 and Well-being: Life in the Pandemic explores the immediate implications of the pandemic for people’s lives and livelihoods in OECD countries. The report charts the course of well-being – from jobs and incomes through to social connections, health, work-life balance, safety and more – using data collected during the first 12-15 months of the pandemic. It also takes stock of what has happened to human, economic, social and natural capital that, beyond their effects on people’s lives today, shape living conditions for years to come. It shows how COVID-19 has had far-reaching consequences for how we live, work and connect with one another, and how experiences of the pandemic varied widely, depending on whether and where people work, their gender, age, race and ethnicity, education and income levels. The report also examines the role that well-being evidence can play in supporting governments’ pandemic recovery efforts. It argues that a well-being lens can prompt policy-makers to refocus on the outcomes that matter the most to people, to redesign policy content from a more multidimensional perspective, to realign policy practice across government silos, and to reconnect people with the public institutions that serve them.
Also available in: French
Human capital and COVID-19
Human capital is vital to long-term well-being, since it addresses the future health, knowledge, competencies and skills of society. The pandemic has adversely impacted current well-being, but it has also weakened the stocks of human capital that will shape future well-being and resilience. In OECD countries, COVID-19 has led to millions of potential years of life lost and exacerbated the dangers of certain health risk factors, including obesity and smoking. As more young people drop out of school due to learning disruptions from the pandemic, long-term educational attainment could fall. Record numbers of people are finding themselves unemployed, underemployed or marginally attached to the labour market – particularly those in the youngest age cohort – which could lead to scarring effects that persist well into the future. For young adults who began their careers in the midst of the Global Financial Crisis, the pandemic is set to compound their disadvantages.
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