Transcript Microsoft PowerPoint - NCRM EPrints Repository

Two approaches to
alternative measures
of progress:
the Happy Planet Index
and National Accounts of
Well-being
ESRC Research Methods
Festival
8 July 2010
Juliet Michaelson
Centre for Well-being
nef (the new economics foundation)
About nef
• An independent UK think-and-do-tank (founded
1986).
• Inspired by 3 principles
– Sustainable development
– Social justice
– People’s well-being
• Well-being programme set up in 2001 to ask:
What would policy look like if it focused on improving
well-being?
How not to measure progress
Gross National Product counts air
pollution, and cigarrette advertising
and…the destruction of the redwood
and the loss of our natural wonder in
chaotic sprawl. It does not allow for
the health of our children, the quality
of their education or the joy or their
play…the beauty of our poetry or the
strength of our marriages. It
measures everything, in short,
except that which makes life
worthwhile.
Robert Kennedy, 1968
GDP and GWB
“GDP. Gross domestic
product. Yes it's vital. It
measures the wealth of our
society. But it hardly tells the
whole story.
Wealth is about so much
more than pounds, or euros
or dollars can ever measure.
It's time we admitted that
there's more to life than
money, and it's time we
focused not just on GDP, but
on GWB - general well-being.”
David Cameron MP
May 2006
So why do we do it?
Simon Kuznets in the US wanted
to ‘improve the welfare of the
poorest’ during the Great
Depression in the 1930s
“The welfare of a
nation can scarcely
be inferred from a
measurement of
national income”
So why do we do it?
Contextual importance:
During WW2 the
militarisation process
created an almost
exclusive emphasis on
production.
Institutionalisation: UN
System on National
Accounting (1953). Currently
1993 standard being used
most widely.
‘Stiglitz’ Commission
recommendations
• Improve economic measures:
– focus on income, household, wealth and assets,
distribution, non-market activities
• Measure dimensions of quality-of-life, including
subjective well-being
• Measure sustainability through a dashboard of
measures
A view of society
Human society
Life Sat x Life Exp =
Happy Life Years
Ecological Footprint
land required to produce resources and sequester CO2
produced by a nation, based on consumption patterns
The HPI
• Combined into an efficiency index:
Results by country
HPI rank
Countries
Region
Life Sat
Life Exp
EF
HPI
1
Costa Rica
1a
8.5
78.5
2.3
=
76.1
2
Dominican Rep
1a
7.6
71.5
1.5
=
71.8
3
Jamaica
1a
6.7
72.2
1.1
=
70.1
9
Brazil
1b
7.6
71.7
2.4
=
61.0
20
China
6a
6.7
72.5
2.1
=
57.1
35
India
5a
5.5
63.7
0.9
=
53.0
43
Netherlands
2c
7.7
79.2
4.4
=
50.6
74
UK
2c
7.4
79.0
5.3
=
43.3
114
USA
2b
7.9
77.9
9.4
=
30.7
143
Zimbabwe
4a
2.8
40.9
1.1
=
16.6
Global results
A sense of direction
What HPI doesn’t do
• Provide texture
• Links to specific policy
• Sensitivity
Where National
Accounts of Wellbeing can help…
• Other aspects of human society
A dynamic model of well-being
Experience
of life
e.g. to be connected
to others,
autonomous, and
competent
Enabling
conditions
e.g. opportunities and
obstacles, inequalities,
social norms, culture
e.g. happiness,
satisfaction, interest,
boredom and distress
Functioning well
and satisfaction
of needs
Psychological
resources
e.g. resilience,
optimism, self-esteem
National Accounts structure
Personal well-being
www.nationalaccountsofwellbeing.org
Social well-being
www.nationalaccountsofwellbeing.org
Overall well-being: adjustable ratio
www.nationalaccountsofwellbeing.org
Country well-being profiles
www.nationalaccountsofwellbeing.org
Enhancing policy making
 Means and ends – policy outcomes and drivers
– e.g. autonomy
self-esteem
better education outcomes?
better health outcomes?
 Looking back and looking forward
– Track change, evaluate, compare
– Identify need, assess proposals, shape content,
delivery and targeting
 Sensitivity to policy?
– Multiple measures means more scope for change
– Current scores suggest room for improvement
Levels of analysis
HPI
NAWB
Find out more
• www.happyplanetindex.org
• www.nationalaccountsofwellbeing.org
[email protected]