Research on quality of life and subjective well-being (SWB) has witnessed a
remarkable growth over the past four decades or so. Since Easterlin’s (1974) seminal
contribution on the relationship between happiness and income, thousands of studies
have followed that examine the intricacies of subjective well-being (for reviews, see
Frey and Stutzer, 2002; Dolan et al., 2008; MacKerron, 2012). These studies have
uncovered some very important aspects of individual well-being and have pointed to
the fact that money or income is not always (as is often assumed) the most important
determinant of SWB.
Economics has a long history of research into the welfare and well-being of
individuals living in different nations and circumstances. However, until quite
recently, standard macroeconomic statistics, such as GDP or income per capita,
were used as proxies for well-being. What subjective measures of well-being have
shown, however, is that, once a basic level of per capita income has been achieved,
subjective well-being may not be closely correlated to further increases in income.
Factors such as personal safety, personal relationships, health, religious freedom and
the ability to influence democratic processes may be just as important in enhancing
human well-being. Several international databases on subjective well-being are
now available. For example, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and
Development’s (OECD) Better Life Index was launched in 2011 in response to a call
to develop internationally comparable measures of well-being, whereas the World
Database of Happiness (managed by Ruut Veenhoven of Rotterdam University) also
seeks to collate existing research to allow for meaningful international comparisons