Well-Being, Social Capital and Public Policy: What's New?
Abstract
This article summarises recent empirical research on the determinants of subjective well-being. Results from national and international samples suggest that measures of social capital, including especially the corollary measures of specific and general trust, have substantial effects on well-being beyond those flowing through economic channels. Cross-national samples (supported by parallel analysis of suicide data) show large well-being effects from the quality of government. Finally, using well-being data to estimate the income-equivalents non-financial aspects of the workplace produces numbers so large as to suggest the existence of unexploited opportunities to improve both employee satisfaction and enterprise efficiency. Copyright 2006 Royal Economic Society.Download Info
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Bibliographic Info
Article provided by Royal Economic Society in its journal The Economic Journal.
Volume (Year): 116 (2006)
Issue (Month): 510 (03)
Pages: C34-C45
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Web page: http://www.res.org.uk/
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Web: http://www.blackwellpublishers.co.uk/asp/journal.asp?ref=0013-0133
Related research
Keywords:Other versions of this item:
- John Helliwell, 2005. "Well-Being, Social Capital and Public Policy: What's New?," NBER Working Papers 11807, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
- I31 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Welfare and Poverty - - - General Welfare
- Z13 - Other Special Topics - - Cultural Economics - - - Economic Sociology; Economic Anthropology; Social and Economic Stratification
- P52 - Economic Systems - - Comparative Economic Systems - - - Comparative Studies of Particular Economies
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