Browse by Tags: social policy

The determinants of 'happiness' and its distribution both domestically and internationally suggest that a more appropriate target for policy is 'unhappiness', which responds to several forms of public action. But setting happiness as an objective does suggest some policy priorities. These include non-material forms of recognition, taxation of positional goods and support of culture and the arts. Individuals have an intrinsic short-term myopic bias, which is exacerbated by the flow of novelty in affluent societies. They find it difficult to commit. Government has a role in supporting personal and social commitment for the long term, for example in co-ordinating responses to challenges such as climate change and energy depletion.

The fifth seminar in Series 7 took place on Wednesday 13th April 2011 at the Trades Hall of Glasgow. Public policy debates in industrialized societies tend to evolve around two instrumental subsystems: the economy and the welfare state. The ultimate goal of these subsystems - the well-being of citizens - receives very little attention. It seems as if policy makers assume that they understand it so well that it needs no special reflection. Unfortunately, this is not the case. The determinants of well-being have changed considerably in recent decades as societies have become wealthier, cultural norms and regulations have become more liberal, and the influence of the markets in everyday life has grown. Instead of scarcity and deprivation, the majority of people in affluent societies suffer from the "problem of choice" – an inability to make good choices for their own and others' well-being. Increasing concerns surrounding work-life balance, mental health, obesity, personal finances and children's development, as well as the rapidly growing markets for life management and well-being magazines, TV programmes and personal consulting services, suggest that this problem is real and has major societal impacts. This underlines the need to develop a better and more holistic understanding of everyday wellbeing that could serve as a basis for better individual decisions and public policy making. Improving knowledge about wellbeing is also crucial for innovating products and services to improve it. The more you know about the determinants of wellbeing in everyday life, the better products and services you can develop. Hence, wellbeing and competitiveness are not contradictory, rather they are consistent with each other.