Economic and Psychological Well-being in Pandemic Times

BESMIRA LAHI

Department of Psychology, University of New York Tirana,

ALBANIA

INES NURJA

Department of Economic and Finance, University of New York Tirana,

ALBANIA

being during the pandemic. We examined the data through descriptive statistics and Chi-square tests. We

synthesize a wide range of information from the literature on well-being and economy and use the Wellbeing

Index as a standardized scale. According to the study's findings, income level is relatively related to happiness.

The general well-being of the population under investigation is below average. Young and single people have a

higher quality of life. In conclusion, economic and social variables are essential and related to psychological

well-being.

Key-Words: economic well-being, psychological well-being, social factors, incomes, level of education

Received: October 10, 2022. Revised: February 24, 2023. Accepted: March 15, 2023. Published: March 31, 2023.

research has targeted the adult population to

understand their psychological well-being and

economic concerns in contemporary times.

The literature review points us to studies

examining human well-being in four main domains:

education, health, living conditions, and economy,

[11]. Others believe there are various types of well-

being, but there are two dimensions of

psychological well-being: positive and negative

effects, [15]. In clinical terms, adult population

priorities; (ii) behaviors representing engagement in

different activities like parties, working groups, etc.;

(iii) experiences including feelings, emotions, and

meaning; and (iv) functioning, representing how

able, accomplished, healthy, and self-regulating the

communities where public health actions and

appropriate public policies secure a better life in an

economy of wellbeing, [25]".

The Corona crisis has consequences for the

economy of Albania, likewise, other Western

Balkan countries, the recovery of whom will depend

policies for a country. Some authors suggest that

"the science of wellbeing is theoretically, metrically,

and empirically ripe enough to complement

economic measures of prosperity for public policy,

[1]." The United Nations Sustainable Development

Goal No. 3 states that "ensuring healthy lives and

promoting well-being at all ages is essential to

sustainable development, [33]." Insights from

papers suggest that "to reposition economic growth,

especially the year-on-year increase in GDP, as a

well-being a potential social indicator since

subjective outcomes influence social and economic

changes that influence the quality of life, [24].

Using the concepts of income and employment

triggers several social conditions like happiness and

well-being; therefore, we are interested in studying

their relationship.

Since subjective well-being empowers

productivity and physical and mental health but is

sensitive to economic changes, does that mean

socioeconomic advantage and disadvantage over

decades, [16]”, little is known concerning the

impact of the pandemic, individual's well-being and

economic issues in Albania. However, there is also

evidence that Albanian's socioeconomic level during

communism was moderately low; this status is

of African-Americans and Caucasians at two points.

Research shows that the more educated groups are

happier than others and that income is a resource

that covaries with well-being, [10].

properties of the WHO-5 indicate validity. It is an

already standardized and translated instrument into

Albanian and 30 other languages.

Relative Income

The relative income of respondents was a self-

declared data gathered throughout the survey. The

Controlling variables

used to conduct the analysis.

3.1 General well-being during the Pandemic

Considering that the pandemic times compromised

life in different dimensions, researchers were

the time, the highest score. A high score would

show a high quality of life with a range between 5

(minimum level) to 30 (highest level of

psychological well-being). If we refer to the

instrument’s items, responses rank between 3- 4;

specifically, respondents have been feeling

moderately cheerful, active, fresh, and relatively

filled with interest.

Table 1. Descriptive Statistics on Wellbeing Index

Table 1.1. Descriptive Statistics

Chi-Square Tests

The Chi-square tests analyzed the relationship

between grouped revenues and the perception that

the economic situation has changed during the last

year. As a result of the Chi-square analysis, we

conclude that the more the income increases, the

more individuals perceive that their situation has

worsened. The individuals with the lowest incomes

individuals with low incomes.

of the cases are to 40.000 ALL/342 Euro, as per the

exchange rate of the Albanian Bank, where 1

Euro=116.9 ALL, reported on November 15th,

2022), with minimum monthly salary, [31].

Table 2.1. Grouped revenues within the level of

individuals with a university level of education

receive a high salary category. The post-university

level of education has a good income level;

therefore, even the average psychological well-

being index is higher in this category. Meanwhile,

for the high school category, the distribution of the

revenues is in line with the level of education they

have received. 60% of the high school level

category have the minimum income level (until

40.000 ALL/month). The 10% of the high school

has an average monthly salary of 60.000-95.000

ALL, corresponding to 513-812.6 Euro, [34]. This

data shows that Albanians' salaries are shrinking,

and every increase in price affects their everyday

living.

Table 3. Distribution of employee contributors by

households spend 16.1 % of the total consumption

with an average consumption expenditure per

household of 122,242 ALL, [35].

expenditures of households and the deciles ratio of

10/90

is the distribution of consumption expenditure in

Albania. "At Risk of Poverty or Social Exclusion

refers to the individuals at risk of poverty or

severely materially deprived or living in a

household with very low work intensity," as

reported by INSTAT. Table 6 below shows a

distinctive inequity, [40].

Table 7. Descriptive Statistics on Wellbeing Index

The highest level of well-being is reported from

the age category 18-24, with an average well-being

index of 16.93, followed by the 25-34 age category

showing an average psychological well-being index

of 16,46. From the young middle ages to old ages,

the decrease in psychological well-being is quite

distinctive. The psychological well-being index

drops to 11 (clearly below the medium level) in the

3.5 Wellbeing and Level of Education

example the high school educational level

(Mean=17.6), which reflects better well-being and

positive perception in comparison with the

university (Mean=16) and post-university level

(Mean=16.9).

Table 8. The average well-being indicator refers to

the level of education

is investigating this perspective during the Covid-19

pandemic in Albania. A non-EU country with a

delicate economy adhering and targeting the UN

SDG to ensure healthy lives and promote well-being

for all, at all ages (SDG, goal nr 3), [30], [36]. This

article may be considered a decent contribution to

the growing evidence on the relationship between

psychological well-being and economic well-being,

which is seen not only at the individual level but

also at a country and broader level.

official sources of information from INSTAT.

Recent studies show that the Chi-Square statistic is

commonly used for testing relationships between

categorical variables [37], [38],[39].

There is much to discuss regarding the need for

good physical and psychological health and, on the

other hand, a good economy. The key results

revealed that the most important features of

psychological well-being for the Albanian

population during the pandemic were the income