Well-Being and Public Policy

Governments rely on certain basic metrics and tools to analyze prospective laws and policies and to monitor how well their countries are doing. In the United States, cost-benefit analysis (CBA) is the primary tool for analyzing prospective policies, especially with respect to administrative regulations. Similarly, Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is perhaps the most prominent metric for monitoring a country's progress. In recent years, one of the most important developments in social science has been the emergence of psychological research measuring subjective well-being (SWB) or ‘happiness’. This article first explains the way in which SWB is measured and how those measurements have been validated. It then discusses well-being analysis (WBA), which uses happiness data to analyze prospective policies more accurately than does CBA. Next, it covers the ways in which SWB data have been used to generate prices that can be used by traditional economic analysis. This is followed by a discussion of attempts to revise CBA to deal with the limitations stemming from the fact that it uses wealth to assess the effects of policy on quality of life. Finally, the article lays out the progress made towards creating an SWB-based alternative to GDP.

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PP017 Social Cost Benefit Analysis Of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy For Alcohol And Cannabis Addiction

International Journal of Technology Assessment in Health Care ◽

10.1017/s0266462317002082 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 33 (S1) ◽

pp. 75-76

Author(s):

Paul van Gils ◽

Eelco Over ◽

Anita Suijkerbuijk ◽

Joran Lokkerbol ◽

Ardine de Wit

Keyword(s):

Quality Of Life ◽

Traffic Accidents ◽

Social Cost ◽

Cost Benefit Analysis ◽

Behavioral Therapy ◽

Cost Benefit ◽

Benefit Analysis ◽

Costs And Benefits ◽

Addiction Care

INTRODUCTION:Due to their chronic nature and high prevalence, alcohol and cannabis addiction leads to a significant (disease) burden and high costs, both for those involved and for society. The latter includes effects on health care, quality of life, employment, criminality, education, social security, violence in the public and private domain, and traffic accidents. In the Netherlands, a considerable number of people with an alcohol or cannabis addiction currently do not receive addiction care. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) is effective as a treatment for both alcohol and cannabis addiction and is widely used in specialized addiction care centers. This social cost-benefit analysis (SCBA) models costs and benefits of increasing the uptake of CBT for persons with an alcohol addiction and for adolescents with a cannabis addiction, taking into account a wide range of social costs and effects (1).METHODS:The method follows general Dutch guidance for performing SCBA. A literature search was conducted to evaluate efficacy of CBT for alcohol and cannabis dependence. In addition, the social costs of alcohol and cannabis addiction for society were mapped, and the costs of enhancing the uptake of CBT were explored. Costs and benefits of increased uptake of CBT for different social domains were modeled for a ten year period, and compared with current (unchanged) uptake during this period. Compliance problems (about 50 percent of clients do not finish CBT) and fall-back to addiction behavior (decrease of effects of CBT over time) were taken into account in model estimations.RESULTS:Per client treated with CBT, the estimated benefits to society are EUR10,000-14,000 and EUR9,700-13,000, for alcohol and cannabis addiction, respectively. These benefits result from reduced morbidity and mortality, improved quality of life, higher productivity, fewer traffic accidents, and fewer criminal activities.CONCLUSIONS:This SCBA shows that not only treated clients but also society will benefit from an increase in people treated with CBT in specialized addiction care centers.

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Quality-of-Life and Cost–Benefit Analysis of a Home Environmental Assessment Program in Connecticut

Journal of Asthma ◽

10.3109/02770903.2010.535881 ◽

2010 ◽

Vol 48 (2) ◽

pp. 147-155 ◽

Cited By ~ 7

Author(s):

Kimberly H. Nguyen ◽

Eileen Boulay ◽

Justin Peng

Keyword(s):

Quality Of Life ◽

Environmental Assessment ◽

Cost Benefit Analysis ◽

Cost Benefit ◽

Benefit Analysis ◽

Assessment Program

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Results of 100 consecutive laparoscopic distal pancreatectomies: postoperative outcome, cost-benefit analysis, and quality of life assessment

Surgical Endoscopy ◽

10.1007/s00464-014-3879-x ◽

2014 ◽

Vol 29 (7) ◽

pp. 1871-1878 ◽

Cited By ~ 36

Author(s):

Marco Braga ◽

Nicolò Pecorelli ◽

Denise Ferrari ◽

Gianpaolo Balzano ◽

Walter Zuliani ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Quality Of Life ◽

Cost Benefit Analysis ◽

Cost Benefit ◽

Postoperative Outcome ◽

Life Assessment ◽

Benefit Analysis ◽

Quality Of Life Assessment

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Happiness-Based Policy Analysis

10.1093/oxfordhb/9780199325818.013.9 ◽

2016 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Paul Dolan ◽

Daniel Fujiwara

Keyword(s):

Policy Evaluation ◽

Cost Benefit Analysis ◽

Cost Benefit ◽

Well Being ◽

Social Progress ◽

Subjective Well Being ◽

Benefit Analysis ◽

Evaluation Tool ◽

Nonmarket Goods ◽

Over Time

Happiness data have an important role in policy. They can be used to monitor social progress over time in the same way that GDP figures are currently used. They can also be used in the subjective well-being valuation (SWV) approach to value nonmarket goods for the purposes of cost-benefit analysis, the primary policy evaluation tool in many governments. This chapter focuses on the latter of these two uses of happiness surveys, where a significant literature has grown over the last decade. It discusses the main problems associated with traditional valuation methods that rely on people’s preferences and the ways in which it has been suggested that SWV can overcome some of these difficulties. SWV also has its problems, and the chapter discusses these, provides suggestions for how results from SWV should be interpreted, and highlights where solutions to the problems in the SWV method have been proposed in the literature.

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Subjective Well-Being in Psychology

10.1093/oxfordhb/9780199325818.013.13 ◽

2016 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Richard Lucas

Keyword(s):

Quality Of Life ◽

Life Satisfaction ◽

Negative Affect ◽

Positive Affect ◽

Well Being ◽

Psychological Research ◽

Subjective Well Being ◽

Personality Predictors ◽

Overall Evaluation

Within psychology, subjective well-being refers to a person’s overall evaluation of the quality of life from his or her own perspective. Traditionally, psychologists have focused on three specific components of subjective well-being: life satisfaction, positive affect, and negative affect, though disagreements exist about precisely how these components should be best measured. Psychological research shows that intuitively appealing predictors of SWB, such as income and health, are typically only weakly correlated with SWB, whereas personality predictors tend to be stronger. This chapter reviews basic psychological research on SWB, addresses questions about the conceptualization and measurement of the construct, and discusses recent attempts to clarify the associations among the various components that are typically studied.

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Inquiry Based Stress Reduction (IBSR) Improves Overall Stuttering Experience among Adults Who Stutter: A Randomized Controlled Trial

Journal of Clinical Medicine ◽

10.3390/jcm10102187 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 10 (10) ◽

pp. 2187

Author(s):

Omrit Feldman ◽

Eran Goldstien ◽

Benjamin Rolnik ◽

Ariel B. Ganz ◽

Shahar Lev-Ari

Keyword(s):

Quality Of Life ◽

Stress Reduction ◽

Satisfaction With Life ◽

Psychological Flexibility ◽

Well Being ◽

The United States ◽

Control Group ◽

Randomized Controlled ◽

Adults Who Stutter

Stuttering is a speech disorder that can cause disturbances in the timing and flow of speech. In addition to being a communication disorder, stuttering is often accompanied by a reduction in the quality of life and has impacts on social status, mental well-being, self-acceptance, and the chances of integration into the labor market. The Inquiry Based Stress Reduction (IBSR) program, developed in the United States by Byron Katie in 1986, is the clinical application of “The Work” method (Thework.com) and represents an emerging mindfulness and cognitive-reframing method. IBSR has been demonstrated to improve mental health and well-being in adults and may alleviate psychological and psychosocial symptoms of stuttering. The purpose of this trial was to examine the effect of a 12-week IBSR intervention on the overall stuttering experience and indicators of anxiety, psychological flexibility, and well-being among adults who stutter (AWS). This study was a randomized controlled clinical trial. Participants were randomized to IBSR (n = 28) and control (n = 28) groups. Validated questionnaires of overall stuttering experience (OASES-A), anxiety (STAI), psychological flexibility (PFQ), and satisfaction with life (SWLS) were completed before, after, and one month after the intervention. An intention-to-treat approach was implemented for analysis. Our results show that participants in the IBSR intervention group exhibited a greater improvement in their overall stuttering experience as compared to the control group, as well as in general information on stuttering awareness and perception, reactions to stuttering, communication in daily situations, and quality of life. In addition, we found a greater reduction in anxiety levels and an increase in satisfaction-with-life scores in the IBSR group. These results indicate that IBSR can improve the overall stuttering experience.

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The Effect of the Acculturation of Chinese Immigrants on Tourist Satisfaction and Quality of Life

Sustainability ◽

10.3390/su13041770 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 13 (4) ◽

pp. 1770

Author(s):

Taeyoung Cho ◽

Taesoo Cho ◽

Hao Zhang

Keyword(s):

Quality Of Life ◽

Cultural Change ◽

Cultural Adaptation ◽

Structural Equation ◽

Chinese Immigrants ◽

Well Being ◽

Equation Model ◽

Subjective Well Being ◽

Tourist Satisfaction

Given the rapidly increasing number of foreign nationals migrating to Korea, this study investigates the relationship between cultural adaptation, tourist satisfaction, and quality of life among Chinese immigrants in Korea. A questionnaire survey was conducted among 344 Chinese immigrants in Korea who visited Gyeongju, where Korean World Heritage sites and modern tourist facilities coexist. A structural equation model was used to verify the hypothesis and indicated that cultural assimilation and cultural separation had a significant effect on tourist satisfaction, whereas cultural integration and cultural change did not have any statistically significant effect on tourist satisfaction. Additionally, tourist satisfaction had a significant effect on quality of life (in terms of subjective well-being and psychological well-being). The results of this study can function as a reference for improving Chinese immigrants’ cultural adaptation, tourist satisfaction, and quality of life.

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Understanding the Link between Family Caregiver Quality of Life and the Care Provided to Older People With Dementia

Innovation in Aging ◽

10.1093/geroni/igaa057.500 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 4 (Supplement_1) ◽

pp. 153-154

Author(s):

Afeez Hazzan

Keyword(s):

Quality Of Life ◽

Quality Of Care ◽

Older People ◽

Family Caregivers ◽

Family Caregiver ◽

Well Being ◽

The United States ◽

People With Dementia ◽

The Impact

Abstract Dementia is one of the most rapidly growing diseases in the United States. In 2018, the direct costs to American society of caring for older people with dementia was approximately $277 billion. Primary informal caregivers are mainly responsible for the care of older people with dementia including Alzheimer’s disease. Caregivers perform a myriad of duties ranging from shopping for their loved ones’ groceries, helping with medications, and managing finances. The caregiving role becomes more demanding as the disease progresses over time, and studies have shown that the quality-of-life (QoL) experienced by caregivers of older adults who have dementia is lower than the QoL of caregivers for older people who do not have dementia. To the best of our knowledge, there has been no research conducted to investigate whether lower caregiver QoL affects the level or quality of care that caregivers provide to persons with dementia. In the current study, we interviewed family caregivers living in Rochester, New York to inquire about their quality of life and the care provided to older people living with dementia. Further, caregivers completed the 36-item Short Form Health Survey (SF-36) as well as a draft questionnaire for measuring the quality of care provided to older people living with dementia. Both quantitative and qualitative findings from this study reveals important relationships between family caregiver QoL and the care provided, including the impact of social support and financial well-being. The study findings could have significant impact, particularly for the provision of much needed support for family caregivers.

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