abstract: 'Purpose - This paper investigates the determinants of subjective

  well-being in Europe using the European Living, Working and COVID-19

  (ELWC) Survey carried out by Eurofound (2021). Socio-demographics

  characteristics, employment status, measures of economic distress,

  inequality and work life balance are considered. Particular attention is

  paid to how quality of government support (QGS), that considers the

  dimensions of good governance such as integrity, fairness, reliability,

  responsiveness and influences subjective mental well-being (WHO-5)

  through the mediation of trust in other people and in institutions.

  Design/methodology/approach - To this end, the authors estimate a

  moderated mediation model for analysing the indirect role of QGS on

  WHO-5 through institutional trust and trust in people.

  Findings - The results support the hypothesis that the reduction in

  WHO-5 in the European population during coronavirus disease 2019

  (COVID-19), particularly marked in the 18-34 age group, is related to

  the perceived inadequacy of government interventions in managing

  economic and social uncertainty through supportive measures. This

  outcome is also due to reduced trust in institutions and other people,

  as both are significant mediators that reinforce the impact of public

  support on WHO-5.

  Practical implications - Government should pay greater attention to this

  relationship amongst good governance, trust and mental health of

  citizens because a healthy human capital is a significant factor for the

  long-run economic growth, in a special way when the authors refer to the

  young workforce with a greater life expectancy.

  Originality/value - In the literature, the role of trust as a mediator

  has been analysed in the relationship between individual economic

  situations and subjective well-being before and during the COVID-19

  pandemic. To the best of the authors'' knowledge, no studies have

  examined the role of perceived QGS on subjective mental well-being using

  the mediating and backing effects of trust in people and institutions.

  Peer review - The peer review history for this article is available at:

  https://publons.com/publon/10.1108/IJSE-08-2022-0549.'
affiliation: 'Poma, E (Corresponding Author), Univ Modena \& Reggio Emilia, Dept Econ
  Marco Biagi, Modena, Italy.

  Poma, Erica; Giovinazzo, Chiara, Univ Modena \& Reggio Emilia, Dept Econ Marco Biagi,
  Modena, Italy.

  Pistoresi, Barbara, Univ Modena \& Reggio Emilia, Dept Econ Marco Biagi, Modena,
  Italy.

  Pistoresi, Barbara, RECent, Modena, Italy.'
author: Poma, Erica and Pistoresi, Barbara and Giovinazzo, Chiara
author-email: 'erica.poma@unimore.it

  barbara.pistoresi@unimore.it

  chiara.giovinazzo@unimore.it'
author_list:
- family: Poma
  given: Erica
- family: Pistoresi
  given: Barbara
- family: Giovinazzo
  given: Chiara
da: '2023-09-28'
doi: 10.1108/IJSE-08-2022-0549
earlyaccessdate: MAY 2023
eissn: 1758-6712
files: []
issn: 0306-8293
journal: INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF SOCIAL ECONOMICS
keywords: 'Subjective well-being; Quality of government support; Institutional

  trust; Trust in people; Europe; Young population; Mediation model'
keywords-plus: LIFE; SATISFACTION; HOWS
language: English
month: 2023 MAY 30
number-of-cited-references: '37'
orcid-numbers: Poma, Erica/0000-0002-0601-7335
papis_id: 362e8806bb2d610a4e496cc32fd42a40
ref: Poma2023mentalwellbeing
times-cited: '0'
title: Mental well-being and government support in Europe. The mediating role of trust
  in people and institutions
type: article
unique-id: WOS:000996119900001
usage-count-last-180-days: '2'
usage-count-since-2013: '2'
web-of-science-categories: Economics
year: '2023'