All discussions about the desirability of policy reforms rest on judgements about their effects on individuals and societal well-being. Yet, suitable measures for assessing how well-being is changing over time or compares across countries are lacking. This problem is, of course, not new and standard economic theory has provided, over the years, a range of insights about the criteria and domains that are most critical for the measurement of well-being, and on the relation between well-being and measures of economic resources. This paper assesses whether GDP per capita is an adequate proxy as a measure of well-being or whether other indicators – used either as substitutes or as complements to GDP per capita – are more suitable for that purpose.
Author:
Romina Boarini, Asa Johansson and Marco Mira d'Ercole
