Well-being, Measurement, and Preferences

Abstract

Non-welfarist approaches to well-being are often criticized for ignoring personal pref erences and suffering from a dictatorial logic. This paper argues that welfarist approaches do not have a special quality of preference neutrality and that non-welfarist/non dictatorial approaches to well-being and interpersonal comparison are possible. Utility is a function not of goods and preferences, but of goods and tastes, and the latter are decomposed into expectations and preferences. A theory of well-being based on choice is recommended. Choice is defined as a function of personal resources and arena options. A typology of measurement approaches is developed. Indirect measurement is . recommended above direct measurement. Implications are discussed for income, social indicators, and capabilities in the measurement of well-being.