Coping with Rising Prices: Student Well-Being Amid Economic Uncertainty

Abstract

This thesis explores how recent economic conditions, such as inflation, rising interest rates, and a weakening job market, have influenced students’ subjective experiences of financial stress and well-being. Drawing on self-collected survey data from students at the University of Gothenburg, the study examines student experiences during the peak inflation years of 2022–2023 and in 2025, through the theoretical lenses of Subjective Well-Being, the Easterlin Paradox, and Hedonic Adaptation. Results from OLS and ordered probit models indicate that students who report being strongly affected by rising prices, particularly in terms of affording basic needs, consistently experience higher levels of financial stress and lower levels of perceived well-being. In 2025, Job-seeking and mortgage related stress also correlates with lower well-being. Interestingly, while financial stress has increased slightly over time, reported well-being has improved marginally across the sample, suggesting some degree of psychological adaptation.