Giovanis, EleftheriosOzdamar, Oznur2024-03-092024-03-0920231046-13101936-4733https://doi.org/10.1007/s12144-023-04710-1https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14034/1270As a response to the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, governments around the globe have carried on strict lockdown measures affecting millions of jobs, public life, and the well-being of people. This study examines people's subjective well-being, such as the perception of the economic situation and mental well-being, who made adjustments to cope with the earning losses. We estimate the well-being cost, which is the money required to compensate people because of the reduction in earnings or employment loss and the coping strategy followed to bring their well-being to the levels of those who have not adopted any coping strategy. We examine two outcomes; the perception of the economic situation and a mental well-being index. We employ data from the ERF COVID-19 MENA Monitor Surveys for Egypt, Jordan, Morocco and Tunisia. The results show that coping strategies with earning losses impact well-being and are associated with high costs. In most cases, the coping strategies of borrowing from banks and selling assets present the highest well-being costs. Furthermore, the estimates highlight significant discrepancies across gender and types of workers, such as those employed in the informal sector and temporary contracts.eninfo:eu-repo/semantics/openAccessCoping Strategies; Covid-19; Inequalities; Mena Region; Subjective Well-BeingArticle10.1007/s12144-023-04710-1N/AWOS:0009827835000012-s2.0-8515813740637359668Q2