Economic Crisis and Well-Being in Europe: Introduction

Excerpt

The financial and economic crisis began in 2007 in the United States and rapidly spread around the world. It was not a typical crisis taking place in a developing country; this crisis took place at the centre of the world economic system, and it had repercussions in many developed countries. As a consequence, many European countries have gone through a difficult period that threatens their citizens’ relatively-high quality of life. Countries in the region have faced increasing unemployment rates as well as the need of undertaking fiscal adjustments which undermine the generous social-welfare schemes which prevail in the region. In a region with a large population of migrants it should not be a surprise to see a differentiated impact of the crisis, hitting deeper in the quality of life of migrants. …