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. They describe the validity of the subjective well-being measures as well as potential problems. The authors then delve into objections to the use of subjective well-being indicators for policy purposes and discuss why these objections are not warranted. Finally, they describe the measures that are currently in use and the types of measures that are most likely to be valuable in the policy domain. The volume will be of interest to researchers in psychology and economics. Contents: Section I: Measuring well-being for public policy 1. Introduction 2. Defining well-being Section II: How well-being adds information 3. Limitations of economic and social indicators 4. Contributions of well-being measures 5. The well-being measures are valid 6. Issues regarding using well-being for policy 7. The Desirability of well-being as a guide for policy Section III: Examples of policy uses of well-being measures 8. Health and well-being: Policy examples 9. The environment and well-being: Policy examples 10. Work, the economy, and well-being: Policy examples 11. The social context of well-being: Policy examples Section IV: Implementing the measures 12. Existing surveys 13. Conclusions References Index About the Authors: Ed Diener is Professor Emeritus at the University of Illinois in Urbana-Champaign. Richard Lucas is Associate Professor of Psychology at Michigan State University. Ulrich Schimmack is Professor in the Department of Psychology at the University of Toronto. |