Ocyna Rudmann

Abstract Exposure to economic inequality is widely thought to erode subjective well-being and mental health1,2,3,4,5, which carries important societal implications6,7,8,9,10. However, existing studies face reproducibility issues11,12,13, and theory suggests that inequality only affects individuals in disadvantaged contexts14,15,16.

1. Introduction During the first months of 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic required humans to modify their everyday behaviours in a matter of weeks. In most countries in the world, mitigative actions were required from citizens (e.g., social distancing and self-quarantining) and lockdowns were enforced.