Besides severe social and economic cutbacks, the COVID-19 pandemic is putting many people in financial difficulties. This applies above all to people on low incomes or to occupational groups that are particularly affected by the pandemic. An interdisciplinary team of researchers from the University of Mannheim, ZEW Mannheim and the Leibniz Institute for Resilience Research in Mainz will now investigate how people in Germany deal with coronavirus-related financial shocks. The project partners contribute their perspectives of economic and business education (Professor Carmela Aprea, University of Mannheim), household economics (Professor Tabea Bucher-Koenen, ZEW Mannheim) and psychological resilience research (Professor Klaus Lieb and Dr. Donya Gilan, Leibniz Institute for Resilience Research) to the research.
“We are particularly interested in how people make decisions while facing high uncertainty and complexity after being hit by a financial shock. This allows us to determine which social and educational policy measures can be used to provide effective and sustainable support for the households affected,” explains Professor Carmela Aprea from the University of Mannheim.