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Viewpoint: Measuring and understanding subjective well‐being

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  • John F. Helliwell
  • Christopher P. Barrington‐Leigh

Abstract

Increasing attention is being paid in academic, policy, and public arenas to subjective measures of well‐being. This promising trend represents a shift towards measuring positive outcomes in psychology and greater realism in the study of economic behaviour. We describe the main measures of subjective well‐being (SWB) and provide examples of policy‐relevant research findings, including new accountings of the differences in individual‐level SWB assessments around the world and across Canada. These suggest a consistent pattern of life circumstances linked to SWB and highlight the importance of social factors whose role has otherwise been hard to quantify in income‐equivalent terms. On porte de plus en plus d'attention aux mesures subjectives de bien‐être dans les mondes de l'université, des politiques publiques et de l'opinion générale. Cette tendance prometteuse tend à accentuer un déplacement vers la mesure de résultats positifs en psychologie, et vers un plus grand réalisme dans l'étude du comportement économique. On décrit les principales mesures de bien‐être subjectif (BES), et on donne des exemples de résultats de recherche qui ont une importance pour la définition de politiques, y compris de nouvelles comptabilités des différences dans les évaluations des mesures de BES au plan individuel tant de par le monde qu'à travers le Canada. Voilà qui suggère un pattern consistent de niveaux de vie relié aux mesures de BES et qui souligne l'importance de facteurs sociaux dont le rôle est d'autre part difficile à quantifier en termes d'équivalence de revenus.

Suggested Citation

  • John F. Helliwell & Christopher P. Barrington‐Leigh, 2010. "Viewpoint: Measuring and understanding subjective well‐being," Canadian Journal of Economics/Revue canadienne d'économique, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 43(3), pages 729-753, August.
    • Handle: RePEc:wly:canjec:v:43:y:2010:i:3:p:729-753
    DOI: 10.1111/j.1540-5982.2010.01592.x
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