Well-Being for Public Policy

In this volume, the authors explain the reasons why subjective indicators of well-being are needed. They describe how these indicators can offer useful input and provide examples of policy uses of well-being measures. The book then delves into objections to the use of subjective well-being indicators for policy purposes and discusses why these objections are not warranted. Finally, the book contains answers pertaining to the measures that are currently in use and describes the types of measures that are most likely to be valuable in the policy domain.

At the most ambitious, even audacious, level, Well-Being for Public Policy has the potential of transforming society by making people and policy more concerned about well-being, and less concerned about economics and income. The existence of national measures of well-being would draw more interest to the rewarding and problem areas of life, and serve to give a broader focus to societal decisions. National accounts of well-being could reorient societies so that social values, the environment, enjoyable work, and physical and emotional health are given prominence along with economic development. This book is an invaluable treatise on current understanding of the complex relationship between well-being and public policy-- it will be of great interest to researchers in the fields of psychology and economics.