Article summary of Accounts of psychological and emotional well-being for policy purposes by Sim & Diener. - Chapter

What is this article about?

This article reviews the reasons for including indicators of subjective well-being in national accounts of quality of life in nations, next to economic and social indicators, as Diener proposed in 2000. The policies that subjective well-being measures could influence, will be described. There will also be a response to some common objections towards implementing indicators of subjective well-being in national accounts.

What are reasons for including subjective well-being in national accounts?

Governments and businesses already have social and economic indicators to track the well-being of their constituents, so why would we need to include measures of subjective well-being? Here are some reasons:

• People believe subjective well-being is very important. Research suggests achieving well-being is often even the most important goal in a person’s life. Governments in modern democracies are instituted to serve the interests of the populace they govern. Governments should thus consider implementing subjective well-being measures in their national accounts.
• Current indicators are incomplete and insufficient. Economic and social measures provide important information about how nations are functioning, but both types of indicators have their limitations that can often be addressed by incorporating measures of subjective well-being in national accounts.
• Subjective well-being is beneficial for both the individuals and the society as a whole. People with higher well-being are often healthier, more successful, and have better social relationships. This also makes a society of happy people stronger and more productive than a society of less happy people.
• Indicators of subjective well-being are easy and inexpensive to implement. It is unlikely that it would cost governments and organizations more to use subjective well-being measurements than it would yield.

What types of policies could subjective well-being measures influence?

So, there are a lot of reasons for incorporating indicators of subjective well-being into national accounts. Indicators of subjective well-being provide us with a broad understanding of the factors that contribute to a person’s or a society’s well-being. These are some suggestions on what subjective well-being measures can be used for in policies, but the evidence is only preliminary. Area’s that affect well-being and can thus be focused on in policies:

• Economics. There is a robust, albeit complicated, relationship between income and subjective well-being and between unemployment and subjective well-being.
• Environment. There is also a proven relationship between a clean and green environment. This means policies should be focused on less air pollution and overall more green spaces in urban areas.
• Health. Indicators of subjective well-being could be used to monitor the physical and mental health of societies, in particular of youth and children.
• Social life. Social capital is the quality of social networks within a community. Societies with strong social capital al characterized by high levels of civic participation, high levels of trust, and strong norms for reciprocity. Social capital is positively associated with subjective well-being.

It is important in the policymaking to focus on differences in subjective well-being between different regions of a nation as well, because not just different nations differ drastically from each other in how happy people are, but also in different regions within a nation.

What are the most important objections to including subjective well-being in national accounts?

Some people think well-being is individual, and governments should not interfere with personal issues. This objection disregards the fact that governments already intervene in numerous aspects of their citizens’ lives and also the fact that well-being has legitimate consequences beyond the individual level. Well-being is not, nor should it be, just an individual concern.

Some also think that striving for high well-being is a luxury and not a basic need. This is thought by people who believe well-being is hedonistic. Numerous studies suggest that well-being is not purely hedonistic and also that well-being has an influence on other needs. The happier people are, the better their health, social relationships, and productive achievements.

In conclusion, national accounts of subjective well-being are important alongside economic and social indicators for how well nations are doing.