Threats to happiness: How lower middle class households deal with insecurity and precariousness

Abstract

Research has pointed towards socio-economic volatility of middle-income households. Little is known about how these households struggle to avoid slipping into poverty or to maintain their socioeconomic position, what they worry about and what this means for their well-being and happiness. By means of qualitative interviews before the onset of the financial crisis (2008) and about one year later, we analyze how various life domains are linked and how dealing with problems in one domain furthers anxieties or worries in another, e.g. debts, health and work. By contrasting the welfare regimes of Chile and Costa Rica, we highlight their role in explaining well-being. Our research contributes to the conceptualising the macro-meso-micro-link and to filling the gap in research on the subjective dimension.