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Cameron’s well-being index must inform policy, says nef
David Cameron’s plan to measure the UK’s well-being is very welcome, says independent think-tank nef (the new economics foundation), creators of the first National Accounts of Well-being. But the Prime Minister must ensure that he acts on the data.
“All policymakers need a compass to guide them, and for the last 50 years, Gross Domestic Product has been that compass. But it’s likely that we have reached the end of what GDP can do for us. Economic growth in the rich world is not improving life satisfaction. Instead it is increasing inequality and pushing our planetary life-support systems to their breaking point. That’s why we welcome Mr Cameron’s plans, and hope that a national measure of well-being might eventually come to be used as the main barometer of a successful policy. Now that the Government has taken the initiative to measure the UK’s well-being, it must also have the courage to scrap or reform policies that stop us from flourishing and living long, happy lives,” said Charles Seaford, Head of the centre for well-being at nef.
In 2009, nef created the first – and so far only – comprehensive National Accounts of Well-being, looking at personal and social well-being across 22 European countries. The data reveal that:
- The UK is ranked 13th, out of 22 European nations, when combining ratings for personal and social well-being, managing only 15th for social well-being and 13th for personal well-being alone.
- The UK fares particularly poorly compared to other Western European nations where we fall third from the bottom on both personal and social well-being.
- Although people in the UK are relatively satisfied with their lives, they score poorly on measures of vitality and sense of meaning and engagement.
- Denmark, Switzerland and Norway show the highest levels of overall well-being, while Central and Eastern European countries such as the Ukraine, Bulgaria and Hungary have the lowest.
nef stresses that simply asking people whether they are happy will not create a picture of well-being that is useful to policy-makers. A more detailed and nuanced set of indicators is needed. nef’s National Accounts of Well-being are built on two groups of measures: personal well-being and social well-being. Personal well-being describes people’s experiences of their positive and negative emotions, satisfaction, vitality, resilience, self-esteem and sense of purpose and meaning. Social well-being is made up of two main components: supportive relationships, and trust and belonging both of which are critical elements of overall well-being.
“We need to ensure that the measurement of well-being is reliable, relevant and robust. This will need investment and a process that reviews current best practice around the world” said Nic Marks, Founder of the centre for well-being.
The real value for policy-makers lies in examining the constituent elements of well-being that make up the overall picture, so that they can be linked to specific policies. nef used these to develop graphical Well-being Profiles which present a snapshot picture for each country or social group allowing policy-makers to identify where intervention is needed most. Analyses from the report revealed:
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The UK comes 20th out of 22 nations on levels of trust and belonging ahead of only Slovakia and Bulgaria.
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For the 16-24 age group people in the UK report the lowest levels of trust and belonging anywhere in Europe, only Bulgarian and Estonian young people report similarly low levels of trust and belonging.
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People over 75 score highly on this component, an indication perhaps of the legacy of the more recent development of a highly individualistic culture in the UK.
Looking across Europe, the results challenge policy makers to understand why some countries are able to succeed in promoting social well-being despite having only moderate levels of personal well-being, and suggest that well-being could be enhanced by, for example, encouraging participation in local activities and trust in political institutions.
