Societal wellbeing: US vs EU

Peter Benczur, Jessica Cariboni (), Shaun Mark Da Costa () and Enrico Giovannini
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Jessica Cariboni: European Commission - JRC, https://joint-research-centre.ec.europa.eu/index_en
Shaun Mark Da Costa: European Commission - JRC, https://joint-research-centre.ec.europa.eu/index_en

No JRC146569, JRC Research Reports from Joint Research Centre

Abstract: ‣ GDP (or household income) alone is insufficient to measure wellbeing. Adopting new, distribution- and sustainability-sensitive welfare metrics, fully in line with the provisions of the EU Treaty, could help to shape more inclusive and balanced economic and social policies that also respect planetary boundaries. ‣ A broader look on societal wellbeing can modify the EU-US comparison substantially and yield very different conclusions on the relative performances over time. From 2010 2023, GDP per capita rose 25% in the United States (vs 17% in the EU). Yet the EU’s overall current wellbeing index increased by 9.5 percentage points while the US moved up by only 1.2 points. ‣ In terms of sustainable and inclusive wellbeing, the EU index improved by 4.0 percentage points in 2010-2023, while the US index declined by 0.5, highlighting the importance of factors like resources for the future, societal resilience, nature, inequalities, and institutional quality. ‣ The resources for the future index, however, is much higher in the US than in the EU, helped by the higher economic growth of the US. ‣ When GDP is adjusted for health and inequality, the EU comes out ahead: using an ‘equivalent income’ metric that incorporates life expectancy and income inequality, the EU surpassed the US by 2022

Date: 2026-04
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