Wellbeing Policy Evaluation and Appraisal

The third chapter offers a methodology for those readers who are tasked with actually conducting policy evaluations and appraisals based on subjective wellbeing data, including wellbeing cost-effectiveness and cost-benefit analyses, impact assessments, or business plans. It first gives a simple and fairly non-formal exposition of how wellbeing cost-effectiveness works. It then sets up the methodology formally and discusses the various technical standards and issues that might arise when implementing them, for example double-counting of impacts. The chapter illustrates the methodology using various examples, ranging from simple to more technical. It also introduces and discusses data sources related to wellbeing, with a particular focus on the United Kingdom at present but also beyond, as well as rules of thumb and matters associated with the use of evidence and literature on wellbeing more generally.