The promotion of wellbeing: A primer for policymakers

Abstract

There is growing international interest among policymakers in the promotion of wellbeing as an objective of public policy. Recent advances in the definition and measurement of wellbeing are giving rise to an increasingly detailed picture of the factors that determine how people think and feel about their lives. Patterns in reported wellbeing show markedly different development over time to measures of GDP per capita and life expectancy often used as proxies for wellbeing by policymakers. However, the concept of wellbeing remains poorly understood by many policymakers and much of the evidence base is extremely recent. I therefore review the current state of the literature on the definition, measurement, and determinants of wellbeing, and discuss some of its implications for public policy.