Panel data covering the French population before and after the outbreak of the Covid-19
epidemic reveal that self-reported health and well-being have improved during the lockdown
in comparison to previous years. We name this counterintuitive phenomenon the “eye of the
hurricane” paradox: the large majority of individuals who are not infected by the virus may be
seeing their current condition in a more positive light than they normally would. There are,
however, divergences across social groups that reflect socioeconomic inequalities. In …