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Well-Being Measures for Public Policy

Well-Being Measures for Public Policy. Ed Diener University of Illinois, and Senior Scientist, The Gallup Organization United Nations Development Program October 8, 2008. Subjective Well-Being (SWB). People’s evaluations of their lives – in both thoughts and feelings. For example:

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Well-Being Measures for Public Policy

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  1. Well-Being Measures for Public Policy Ed Diener University of Illinois, and Senior Scientist, The Gallup Organization United Nations Development Program October 8, 2008

  2. Subjective Well-Being (SWB) People’s evaluations of their lives – in both thoughts and feelings. For example: Life satisfaction Marital, work, & health satisfaction Pleasant emotions, e.g. Joy, affection, & trust Low negative emotions, e.g., anger & depression

  3. Overview Subjective well-being helps reveal the progress of societies – quality of life It provides useful new information to policy makers -- with some policy examples Also SWB directly benefits societies – health, longevity, prosperity, and peace Finally, I will answer objections

  4. 10: Best Possible Life 9 • Gallup World Poll 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 0: Worst Possible Life

  5. Culture and Well-Being

  6. WHY SWB? Why not just measure income, education, and longevity – the HDI?

  7. Limitations of Existing Indicators, Including the HDI • What they do not measure e.g., Trust Air pollution Gender equality Job security Green urban space Crime etc.

  8. Characteristics of Nations Missed by HDI?

  9. SWB measures more than the HDI:Correlates of National Life Satisfaction • Income .82 • Longevity .73 • Political stability .52 • Trust other people .48 • Unemployment -.44 • Time with family/friends .41

  10. Example: Crime • Assault rate adds to the prediction of Life Satisfaction beyond the HDI

  11. 2. HDI Has Low CeilingDifferentiation only for less developed nations

  12. 3. Need ever-expanding lists of measures to capture all elements of quality of life How to include them all? How to weight them?

  13. How large a list? • Commuting time • Factory emissions • Greenery • Support for science • Literary achevements • Support for the arts • Litter rates • Quality of roads • Building safety • Rape rates • Parks • Tertiary education • Education gender equality • Income equality • Unemployment rate • Inflation rate • Political corruption • Business corruption • Child abuse • Infant mortality • Longevity • AIDS rates • School dropout rate • Juvenile delinquency • Free time • Youth sports participation • Recycling rates • Exercise rates • Consumption of junk foods • Consumption of animal protein • Locally grown produce • Etc • Etc • Etc • Etc • Etc • Etc • Etc • Etc

  14. How to Weight? • Health, education, equality, crime, pollution – all weighted the same? Example: U.S.A. Cities 333 cities – many can be rated first OR last, depending on weighting of indicators!

  15. 4. Whose List to Use? • Amartye Sen; Martha Nussbaum? U.S. “experts” (elites) U.S. example: The fine arts versus roller-derby SWB measures are democratic -- from the people -- what they value and weight

  16. SWB Weights and Integrates The Things About Which People Care, the Optimal Weights, and The Direction of Influence!

  17. 5. Also measurement problems with economic and other measures • Subjectivity in contents – GDP • Missed – black & grey markets, & bartering • Unreliable in poor nations • How to integrate different approaches to measuring GNP

  18. 6. Other Measures Miss Something Very Important! HDI Robots – educated, long-living with money Don’t we want more than orderly worker-bees? Don’t we also want people leading meaningful and rewarding lives?

  19. Why SWB ? • It is people’s evaluations of their lives – surely we want these to be positive! Democratic! • People rate it as very important, even the most important. They want it! • Well-being is a core component of mental health, and mental illness likely largest cause of illness-related misery in the 21st century • Behavioral benefits of well-being

  20. Importance Ratings (1-9) HappinessWealthHealth OVERALL (28 nations) 8.0 6.8 7.9 Chile 8.6 6.9 8.1 Singapore 8.4 7.1 8.0 Egypt 8.1 7.6 8.0 USA 8.1 6.7 7.6 Japan 7.4 6.6 7.8

  21. Disease Burden • Misery burden from mental illnesses likely to be largest by 2020, yet missed by longevity statistics • Autism, Schizophrenia, bipolar disorder • This burden reflected by SWB indicators

  22. BUT Is happiness good? Is it functional?

  23. The Error of Flaubert To be stupid, selfish, and have good health are three requirements for happiness, though if stupidity is lacking, all is lost. Gustave Flaubert

  24. Our Research Shows that Happiness is BeneficialFlaubert 180 degrees off

  25. Social Benefits of Being Happy • More friends • Better and longer marriages • Social capital: Trust

  26. Work Benefits • Higher supervisor ratings at work • Better “organizational citizens” • Higher incomes • USA • Australia • Russia

  27. Societal Benefits • Volunteering • Pro-peace attitudes • Cooperative

  28. Health Benefits of SWB 1. Illness Immune, cardiovascular, etc. 2. Longevity

  29. Longevity: The Nun Study Danner, Snowden, & Friesen, U Kentucky 1. Nuns autobiographies at age 22 Expression of positive emotions 2. Happy and less happy nuns living in same life circumstances through lifespan How long do they live?

  30. Longevity inThe Nun Study Survival Rate at Age:8594 Most Cheerful Quartile 90% 54% Least Cheerful 34% 11% Longevity boost – about 10 years! Danner, Snowdon, & Friesen

  31. Psychologists Happy live about 6 years longer

  32. Predicting National Mean Life Expectancy Corr.BetarB GDP/Capita .66 .12 Health Expenditures .47 .01 Life Satisfaction .76 .65

  33. Predicting National Life Expectancy When control GDP and Health Expenditures first: SWB – Affect and Life Satisfaction – add 16% more variance in predicting longevity!

  34. In sum: National Accounts of Well-Being • People believe well-being is important • It leads to several desirable outcomes • It helps with social capital • We ought to be measuring it!

  35. Policy Examples • Economics • Unemployment • Environment • Commuting • Air pollution

  36. Slow & Incomplete Adaptation to Unemployment(Mostly Re-Employed, and Controlling for Income)

  37. The Environment: Commuting Life Satisfaction is consistently lower for those who have long commutes Rising commute time resulting in higher incomes does not raise LS

  38. The Environment: Smokestack Emissions Life satisfaction Quasi-experimental study in Germany

  39. Objections 1.Can’t measure “happiness” validly -- must look at “behavior” 2. People adapt to their conditions 3. Happy pigs and happy mafia 4. Happiness is an individual affair; we don’t want paternalism

  40. Measurement – Objectivity? SWB measures have proven validity

  41. Denmark 8.0 Finland 7.7 Switzerland 7.5 Netherlands 7.5 Spain 7.2 Ireland 7.1 Togo 3.2 Cambodia 3.6 Sierra Leone 3.6 Georgia 3.7 Zimbabwe 3.8 West Bank 4.7 The: “Would you move?”Diener Measure of ValidityLife Evaluation LadderIdeal to Worst (10 to 0)

  42. Measurement Validity:SWB Measures Correlate With: Suicide (individual and national) Physiological (brain, hormones, immune) Informant reports (family and friends) Interview ratings Reaction-time to stimuli tasks

  43. Surveys in Economics • Survey measures used in GNP • Subjective decisions about how to sum those numbers • Subjective reports do have issues, yes, but no more than counting • Examples: Education, Unemployment, Eastern bloc

  44. Objection 2: Adaptation:Life Satisfaction & Disability • People adapt to bad and good conditions • The “Happy Poor” • Happy Slaves?

  45. Adaptation?

  46. 3. Happy Mafia & Pigs? • Bad people, dumb people, etc. can be happy • Yes, and they can be: Rich Educated Long-lived too Happiness is NOT the only value; other things matter too

  47. Other Values More Important? For example: capabilities & functionings Maybe, but so what? This does not mean SWB is not also very important!

  48. 4. Paternalism CLAIM • Happiness is an individual affair, not the business of governments

  49. Paternalism?

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