INCREASING PEOPLE’SWELL-BEING

Mariano Rojas

FCCT

The Experience of Being Well People’s experience of being well

matters Pleasures and pains Enjoyments and sufferings Achievements and failures

A new Wealth-of-Nations conception A new ‘object’ of progress

Income is a mean but not an end

The Experience of Being Well SWB approach

We should not presume people’s well-being, but we should ask people about it

Empowering people

People are not as enthusiastic about current well-being indicators as those who construct and use them are

The Experience of Being Well Public policy influences people’s

experience of being well

Enhancing current impact of public policies and development strategies

Measuring SWB to know the impact Incorporating SWB to design better

policies

Development Strategies

People-centered development

Placing people’s experience of being well at the center Income and GDP as an instruments

Having a society where people are satisfied with their life

Reconsidering Human capital Social capital Physical capital Leisure as being idle

Development Strategies

From ‘Human Capital’ to ‘Skills for Living a Satisfactory Life’

Intrinsic value of education and health Reconsidering educational and health

programs

From ‘Social Capital’ to ‘Human Relations’

Intrinsic value of social networks Others as ends rather than as means

Development Strategies

From ‘Physical Capital’ to ‘Livability of People’s Surrounding Conditions’

An environment that contributes to experiencing well-being

The value of parks, green areas, social and public spaces, so on

Leisure and its gratifying using It is an important well-being source

Enhancing Social Programs

Getting people out of poverty is great . . . placing them in a life-satisfying situation is even better

Designing social programs Aiming for people’s satisfaction with life Incorporating hidden well-being costs and

benefits

Enhancing Social Programs

Enhancing Social Programs

Domains of life People are much more than consumers

“There is more in life than the standard of living; and for most people there are more important things.”

Social Programs

Social Programs: Hidden Costs

Enhancing Social Programs

Enhancing Social Programs

Superior pattern out of poverty Well-being enhancing

Getting people out of poverty and placing them in a life satisfying situation

Going beyond income

Aim, design and evaluation Incorporating all domains of life

Allocation of Resources

Valuation

Non-market valuation Public goods Non-market goods

Complementing market valuation Due to market failures

Market concentration Unfair income distribution