National Accounts of Well-being: bringing real wealth onto the balance sheet

Abstract

The report sets out the details of nef's case for governments to systematically measure and report on the well-being of their populations. Using the latest findings from the field of well-being research, it demonstrates how the case for national well-being measures is closely linked to the history of economic national accounting. It describes how a framework for National Accounts of Well-being was developed from European Social Survey data and presents the resulting findings, to show how National Accounts of Well-being can provide a new, more meaningful measure of national success and help governments take decisions to improve the lives of their citizens.