COVID-19 policy responses and subjective well-being

COVID-19 led to the implementation of containment measures including social distancing and lockdowns which negatively impacted people's mental and psychological well-being. To weaken the adverse outcomes associated with these containment measures, governments worldwide implemented several policies to provide financial, and non-financial assistance to people. In Australia, the government implemented COVID-19 support payments to provide financial relief to its citizens. In this study, we examine the impact of five different COVID-19 support payments on the subjective well-being of Australians. We do this for the general population, and across key groups by using econometric strategies while measuring subjective well-being with overall life satisfaction. Our results show that the five different COVID-19 support payments are associated with an increase in the wellbeing of Australians. This effect is larger for males, individuals over 40, and those without bachelor's degrees.