Chapter 1
What is National Wellbeing and why Measure it?
Paul Allin,
David J. Hand,
Paul Allin
Search for more papers by this authorDavid J. Hand
Search for more papers by this authorBook Author(s):Paul Allin,
David J. Hand,
Paul Allin
Search for more papers by this authorDavid J. Hand
Search for more papers by this authorSummary
This book is about social progress: its definition and its measurement. In particular, it is concerned with the overall wellbeing or quality of life of the people in a nation at a point in time, how this has changed (i.e. ‘progress’) and whether it is sustainable. In exploring this topic, the book seeks to address three primary questions: What is national wellbeing? Why should national wellbeing be measured? How should national wellbeing be measured? Psychologists, sociologists, economists, statisticians, medical researchers, ecologists and others all have something to say about how it should be done. In part this is because they have different potential uses for such a measurement in mind, but in large part it is because the issue is fundamentally multidisciplinary. Wellbeing may be a characteristic of an individual, but it is at least partly a reflection of social interactions and is influenced by external forces.
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