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Psychological and Subjective Wellbeing: A Proposal for Internationally Comparable Indicators

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Emma Samman

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Abstract

This article sets out a proposal to measure psychological and subjective states of wellbeing in individual and household surveys. In particular, it proposes a short list of seven indicators, and a module containing the relevant questions needed to construct them. The indicators address both eudaimonic and hedonic criteria, and cover four aspects of wellbeing: 1) meaning in life; 2) psychological wellbeing – following self-determination theory, this includes the three “basic psychological needs” of autonomy, competence and relatedness; 3) domain-specific and overall life satisfaction; and 4) happiness. The article recommends that further research explore the connections between these indicators, as well as their relationship with objective measures of disadvantage. While reaffirming that perceptual states should not be treated as aims of government policy, it is argued that they may provide a richer understanding of peoples’ values and behavior – and therefore that further research on the subject could deepen our understanding of capability poverty.

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File URL: http://www3.qeh.ox.ac.uk/pdf/ophiwp/OPHIWP006.pdf
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Paper provided by Queen Elizabeth House, University of Oxford in its series OPHI Working Papers with number ophiwp006.

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Date of creation: May 2007
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Handle: RePEc:qeh:ophiwp:ophiwp006

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  1. Kingdon, Geeta Gandhi & Knight, John, 2007. "Community, comparisons and subjective well-being in a divided society," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 64(1), pages 69-90, September. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  2. Bruno S. Frey & Alois Stutzer, 2006. "Should National Happiness be Maximized?," CREMA Working Paper Series 2006-26, Center for Research in Economics, Management and the Arts (CREMA), revised Mar 2007. [Downloadable!]
  3. Rafael Di Tella & Robert J. MacCulloch & Andrew J. Oswald, 2001. "Preferences over Inflation and Unemployment: Evidence from Surveys of Happiness," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 91(1), pages 335-341, March. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  4. Rafael Di Tella & Robert J. MacCulloch & Andrew J. Oswald, 2003. "The Macroeconomics of Happiness," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 85(4), pages 809-827, 09. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  5. Mariano Rojas, 2006. "Life satisfaction and satisfaction in domains of life: is it a simple relationship?," Journal of Happiness Studies, Springer, vol. 7(4), pages 467-497, November. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  6. Gustav Ranis, Frances Stewart and Emma Samman, . "Human Development: beyond the HDI," QEH Working Papers qehwps135, Queen Elizabeth House, University of Oxford. [Downloadable!]
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