Population happiness and Public Policy

Transcription

1 Population happiness and Public Policy Robert A. Cummins Australian Centre on Quality of Life and School of Psychology Deakin University

2 Financial crisis of 2007?

3 Prof Joseph E. STIGLITZ, Columbia University Nicolas Sarkozy French President, commissioned the report in 2008 following the economic melt down. Prof Amartya SEN, Harvard University 2009 Report by the Commission on the Measurement of Economic Performance and Social Progress Prof Jean Paul FITOUSSI, Institut d'études politiques Paris:OECD

4 Aim of the Commission to identify the limits of GDP as an indicator of economic performance and social progress, to consider what is required for the production of more relevant indicators of social progress; to assess the feasibility of alternative measurement tools

5 CONCLUSIONS What we measure affects what we do; and if our measurements are flawed, decisions may be distorted. Choices between promoting GDP and protecting the environment may be false choices, once environmental degradation is appropriately included in our measurement of economic performance. The commonly used statistics may not be capturing some phenomena, which have an increasing impact on the wellbeing of citizens. (p7)

6 Wellbeing Objective Conditions e.g. Physical wealth, health, etc Subjective Perceptions e.g. Satisfaction with wealth, health, etc Objective QOL Subjective Wellbeing [Mood happiness]

7 Quality of Life Objective Conditions e.g. Physical wealth, health, etc Subjective Perceptions e.g. Satisfaction with wealth, health, etc Objective QOL? Subjective Wellbeing [Mood happiness]

8 ww.vermontdairy.com/ice_cream Feelings of wellbeing come in two varieties Short term emotional happiness An emotional response to something nice Long term mood happiness A mood with a genetic basis Subjective wellbeing [Contentment]

9 Why is Mood Happiness so important? Positive emotions build a range of personal resources as: Physical resources (health, longevity) Social resources (friendliness, social capital) Intellectual resources (intellectual curiosity, expert knowledge,) Psychological resources (resilience, optimism, creativity)

10 How do we measure Mood Happiness?

11 Discussing the intended construction of an Index, a well know government and ABS advisor was recently heard to say We will include subjective and qualitative measures as well as objective and quantitative measures

12 Discussing the intended construction of an Index, a well know government advisor was recently heard to say We will include subjective and qualitative measures as well as objective and quantitative measures

13 Discussing the intended construction of an Index, a well know government advisor was recently heard to say We will include subjective and qualitative measures as well as objective and quantitative measures

14 We will include subjective and qualitative measures as well as objective and quantitative measures Contemporary measures of subjective wellbeing are: 1. Quantitative 2. Yield CARDINAL [interval] data 3. Can be analysed by OLS statistical techniques

15 Personal Wellbeing Index International Wellbeing Group (2006) How satisfied are you with your? Standard of living Health Achieving in life Relationships Safety Community connectedness Future security Spirituality/Religion

16 We code all data to lie on a range from Complete dissatisfaction Complete satisfaction 0 100

17 In 2000 Deakin University and Australian Unity formed a partnership Purpose: to create a quarterly index of subjective wellbeing for the Australian population. As an adjunct to the traditional economic indicators such as GDP

18 The Australian Unity Wellbeing Index Surveys Geographically representative sample N = 2,000 Telephone interview #1: April 2001 #23: April 2010

19 Personal Wellbeing Index

20 Personal Wellbeing Index This represents a 3.0 percentage point variation

21 Essential for Policy Relevance To establish the normal range for Mood Happiness using population sample mean scores as data Very satisfied 100 Mood Happiness Very dissatisfied N = 23 survey mean score Mean = Standard deviation = 0.75 Normal range =

22 Very satisfied Mood Happiness Very dissatisfied Group mean score Normal range A group at this level needs more resources

23 Personal Wellbeing Index This represents a 3.0 percentage point variation

24 Why is Mood Happiness held so steady? Homeostasis Just like we hold body temperature steady Mood happiness homeostasis

25 Each person has a set point for their Mood Happiness. These set points lie between 60 and Range for individual set points Set points are always POSITIVE ie above 50

26 The average set point is Range For individual set points 75 [The set point for the average person ] 60

27 90 75 The average set point 60 When nothing much is happening to them, people rate how they feel about their life in terms of their set point for SWB Time

28 Homeostasis can fail MOOD Happiness 45/100 Homeostatic challenges The loss of positive wellbeing is depression

29 The power of external resources MOOD Happiness 75/100 Homeostatic challenges External resources (eg. relationships, money)

30 The truth about money Money does allow us to defend our wellbeing. It is a very flexible resource. Luxury spending does not buy happiness. We adapt to whatever we buy. So, in order to maximise our wellbeing, how much money do we need?

31 Income and Mood Happiness Mood Happiness Total N 40,000 * 73.9 * 74.9 * 76.5 * Normal Range <$15 $15 30 $31 60 $61 90 $ $ $150+ Median Household Income ($'000)

32 There is a general principle Threshold (Income purchases maximum homeostatic protection) Subjective wellbeing Increasing income is useful Increasing income is useless $ wealth $ Can we use this information to increase the wellbeing of Australians?

33 Which developed countries have the highest level of subjective wellbeing?

34 The Scandinavian countries strongly support their most vulnerable citizens Benefits are given to all citizens, without regard to employment or family situation. The system covers everyone. And the benefits are given to the individual, so that e.g. married women have rights independently of their husbands. The taxation system is both broadly based (25%VAT and excise) and with high income tax rates for high earners.

35 The distribution of subjective wellbeing in the Australian population Frequency (%) Personal Wellbeing Index

36 Average population wellbeing can be raised by more strongly supporting the people who are struggling with homeostatic defeat Frequency (%) More resources are required here Personal Wellbeing Index

37 Who are the most disadvantaged groups?

38 Groups with the lowest Mood Happiness [cumulative data] Normal range PWI (N) (548) (2,146) (2,774) (752) (144) (134) Unemployed <$15K Live alone <$15K and Alone <$15K and Unemployed Alone and Unemployed

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40 Special purpose sample Members of Carers Australia Mailed questionnaires July 2007 N 4,000 returns

41 The Mood Happiness of carers Normal range PWI (N) (548) (2,146) (2,774) (752) (144) (134) (3,766) Unemployed <$15K Live alone <$15K and Alone <$15K and Unemployed Alone and Unemployed Carers

42 What does low wellbeing mean? Abnormally low = Mood Happiness High risk of depression

43 Diagnostic ranges of depression (Depression, Anxiety and Stress Scale) Scores on the depression scale Normal Mild Moderate Severe Extremely depression depression depression severe depression

44 Diagnostic ranges of depression Scores on the depression scale Carer sample average 10 0 Normal Mild Moderate Severe Extremely depression depression depression severe depression

45 Are you the person who provides most of the care? Normal range PWI * Yes (N=3,447) No (N=295) Primary care responsibilitiy

46 The normative range can be used to identify geographic regions at risk

47 New South Wales Above average Average Below average

48 The Personal Wellbeing Index can be used to determine the optimal size of towns

49 Personal Wellbeing Index How satisfied are you with your? Standard of living Health Achieving in life Relationships Safety Community connectedness Future security Spirituality/Religion Each domain has its own normal range

50 PWI Normal range for the domain of Community Connection SWB Normal range Town/City Size

51 Community connection PWI Normal range Largest Town/City Size Smallest

52 Community connection 76 30,000 to 40, PWI Normal range Largest Town/City Size Smallest

53 Summary 1. The measurement of Subjective Wellbeing is simple, quick, reliable and valid 2. A crucial aspect for policy usefulness is to establish a normal range for each country. 3. Areas of disadvantage can be identified by reference to the normal range