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Well‐Being, Front and Center: A Note on the Sarkozy Report

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  • Richard A. Easterlin

Abstract

The Sarkozy Report is a study commissioned by the French President on better ways to measure the level and progress of societal well‐being than conventional economic indicators such as GDP. Despite being prepared by prominent economists—the commission was led by Joseph Stiglitz, Amartya Sen, and Jean‐Paul Fitoussi—the Report rejects reliance on “production‐oriented” measures of progress in favor of a broader array of quality‐of‐life indicators, some of them subjective, and measures of the sustainability of well‐being into the future. These multiple dimensions of well‐being, it argues, should be used in policy decisions and welfare evaluations. The views expressed in the Report may portend a sea‐change in the way economists think about the benefits of economic growth.

Suggested Citation

  • Richard A. Easterlin, 2010. "Well‐Being, Front and Center: A Note on the Sarkozy Report," Population and Development Review, The Population Council, Inc., vol. 36(1), pages 119-124, March.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:popdev:v:36:y:2010:i:1:p:119-124
    DOI: 10.1111/j.1728-4457.2010.00320.x
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Commission on Growth and Development, 2008. "The Growth Report : Strategies for Sustained Growth and Inclusive Development," World Bank Publications - Books, The World Bank Group, number 6507.
    2. World Bank, 2009. "Geography in Motion: World Development Report 2009 (excerpt)," Transnational Corporations Review, Ottawa United Learning Academy, vol. 1(3), pages 40-46, September.
    3. Easterlin, Richard A. & Angelescu McVey, Laura, 2009. "Happiness and Growth the World Over: Time Series Evidence on the Happiness-Income Paradox," IZA Discussion Papers 4060, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    4. McCloskey, Donald N, 1983. "The Rhetoric of Economics," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 21(2), pages 481-517, June.
    5. Daniel Kahneman & Alan B. Krueger, 2006. "Developments in the Measurement of Subjective Well-Being," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 20(1), pages 3-24, Winter.
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    Cited by:

    1. Christopher L. Ambrey & Peter Daniels, 2017. "Happiness and footprints: assessing the relationship between individual well-being and carbon footprints," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 19(3), pages 895-920, June.
    2. G. Madonia & M. Cracolici & M. Cuffaro, 2013. "Exploring Wider Well-Being in the EU-15 Countries: An Empirical Application of the Stiglitz Report," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 111(1), pages 117-140, March.
    3. Olga Shemyakina & Anke Plagnol, 2013. "Subjective Well-Being and Armed Conflict: Evidence from Bosnia-Herzegovina," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 113(3), pages 1129-1152, September.
    4. Martin Binder, 2013. "Innovativeness and Subjective Well-Being," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 111(2), pages 561-578, April.
    5. Christopher Ambrey & Christopher Fleming, 2014. "Life Satisfaction in Australia: Evidence from Ten Years of the HILDA Survey," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 115(2), pages 691-714, January.
    6. Valerie Møller, 2013. "South African Quality of Life Trends Over Three Decades, 1980–2010," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 113(3), pages 915-940, September.
    7. Marco Le Moglie & Letizia Mencarini & Chiara Rapallini, 2019. "Does income moderate the satisfaction of becoming a parent? In Germany it does and depends on education," Journal of Population Economics, Springer;European Society for Population Economics, vol. 32(3), pages 915-952, July.
    8. Heinz-Herbert Noll, 2011. "The Stiglitz-Sen-Fitoussi-Report: Old Wine in New Skins? Views from a Social Indicators Perspective," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 102(1), pages 111-116, May.

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    JEL classification:

    • D69 - Microeconomics - - Welfare Economics - - - Other

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