Well-being: taking its place on the global stage?

This week, the UN General Assembly called on member states to pursue public policies that give greater consideration to the importance of happiness and well-being in social and economic development. The adopted resolution, entitled 'Happiness: Towards a Holistic Approach to Development', states that GDP 'was not designed to and does not adequately reflect the happiness and well-being of people in a country' and that 'unsustainable patterns of production and consumption can impede sustainable development'.

For some, talk of happiness may seem frivolous when set against the serious work of governments to manage economies, provide for the infirm or ensure food and energy security. So why is it up for serious consideration by an institution like the UN?

The global financial crisis of 2008 spurred intense scrutiny of our economic system. The subsequent race to bail out the banks and slash public spending rested partly on the belief that if people kept consuming and economies kept growing, things would work out. What that analysis neglected was the substantial body of well-being research questioning whether our economic system — even in good times — adequately provides for people.

The science of well-being cannot find convincing evidence that increases in GDP or household income make a substantial difference to people's well-being, at least once basic needs are met. It turns out that alongside material needs, people have psychological and social needs — to feel related to others, competent and autonomous. Just as affluent lives do not strictly equate to happy lives, public policy cannot focus solely on raising living standards if it aims to improve well-being.

The mantra of 'more equals better' produced formulaic jobs over meaningful ones, increased inequality within some of the richest nations, led to exploitation of natural resources and neglected the other factors that make lives meaningful — the quality of relationships, opportunities to learn and to act in support of others. Where mainstream economics has fostered values of self-interest and competition, public policies designed with well-being in mind will likely find greater reason to value compassion and cooperation.

An economy that works for people's well-being will serve the majority, not just the few. It will mean a fundamental restructuring of priorities for international economic reform bodies like the IMF and the World Bank, and a concerted effort by national governments to steer their countries down a different development path.