Understanding and Improving the Social Context of Well-Being

John Helliwell

No 18486, NBER Working Papers from National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc

Abstract: The paper first attempts to demonstrate the fundamental importance of the social context. The related evidence is drawn from recent theoretical and empirical advances in the study of subjective well-being. Treating people's self-assessments of the quality of their lives as valid measures of well-being exposes the importance of the social context and suggests new ways to design better policies. The paper starts with demonstrations of the unexpectedly great well-being consequences of social and pro-social behavior. In addition, evidence is advanced to show an evolutionary fitness for social and pro-social behaviors above and beyond those flowing through their direct consequences for subjective well-being. This is followed by discussion of specific measures of the social context, of the fundamental importance of trust as social glue, and of several experiments designed to improve subjective well-being.

JEL-codes: D6 I28 N30 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2012-10
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-evo, nep-hap, nep-hme, nep-ltv and nep-soc
Note: DEV PE
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (10)

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Chapter: Understanding and improving the social context of well-being (2014)
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