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National Accounts of Well-Being

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Abstract

National accounts of subjective well-being should be used to assess the various facets of citizen’s well-being such as life satisfaction, trust in others, positive emotions, meaning and purpose in life, and engagement and interest. Although economic indicators have reigned within policy debates, the purpose of the economic indicators is ultimately to enhance “happiness”—subjective well-being. National measures of well-being that are collected systematically at periodic intervals will not only help focus attention on well-being as a major goal of societies but also can give information to leaders about policy alternatives and thus inform policy debates in a way that complements economic analyses. Although global well-being measures such as life satisfaction are useful, measures that are focused on certain target populations, on current policy questions, and on specific activities and life domains often will be most informative for policy debates. Various concerns about national accounts of well-being are addressed.

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Encyclopedia of Quality of Life

Kenneth Land, Editor

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Notes

  1. 1.

    Robert F. Kennedy. Address to an election rally at the University of Kansas, on March 18, 1967.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychology, University of Illinois, 603 E. Daniel Street, Champaign, IL, 61820, USA

    Ed Diener Ph.D.

  2. The Gallup Organization, Washington, DC, USA

    Ed Diener Ph.D.

  3. School of Social Sciences, Singapore Management University, Singapore, Singapore

    William Tov Ph.D.

Authors
  1. Ed Diener Ph.D.
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  2. William Tov Ph.D.
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Correspondence to Ed Diener Ph.D. .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Duke University, Hudson Hall 130, Durham, 27708, North Carolina, USA

    Kenneth C. Land

  2. , Faculty of Arts, Brandon University, 18th Street 270, Brandon, R7A 6A9, Manitoba, Canada

    Alex C. Michalos

  3. Pamlin College of Business, Dept. Marketing, Virginia Polytechnic Institute, Pamplin Hall 2025, Blacksburg, 24061-0236, Virgin Islands, USA

    M. Joseph Sirgy

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Diener, E., Tov, W. (2012). National Accounts of Well-Being. In: Land, K., Michalos, A., Sirgy, M. (eds) Handbook of Social Indicators and Quality of Life Research. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-2421-1_7

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