scholarly journals The Empirics of Social Progress: The Interplay between Subjective Well-Being and Societal Performance

2018 ◽  
Vol 108 ◽  
pp. 477-482 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniel Fehder ◽  
Michael Porter ◽  
Scott Stern

Though economists have long recognized that GDP is not by itself a measure of societal well-being, most GDP alternatives incorporate direct measures of economic performance. We propose instead an independently constructed measure, a social progress index, focusing exclusively on noneconomic dimensions of societal performance, highlighting three core dimensions—basic human needs, foundations of well-being, and opportunity. GDP and social progress are correlated but distinct, the social progress dimension least related to GDP (opportunity) is strongly related to subjective well-being, and the relationship between social progress and well-being is greater for individuals at lower relative income and educational attainment.

2021 ◽  
Vol 101 (4) ◽  
pp. 422-435
Author(s):  
Maylee Inga-Hancco ◽  
Adamari Indigoyen-Porras ◽  
Sergio Parra-Alarcón ◽  
Juan Cerrón-Aliaga ◽  
Wagner Vicente-Ramos

The present study describes the methodological process proposed by the Social Progress Imperative Global Organization to calculate the Social Progress Index in urban and rural areas of the province of Huancayo, Peru, in 2020. The survey was based on 229 observations regarding basic human needs, foundations of well-being and opportunities. The result produced an index of 56.04 for urban areas and 53.98 for rural areas; results that are in the low and low middle range respectively, identifying deficiencies in the quality of economic policies, with respect to the sanitation service, where more than 30% do not have access to drinking water, and others. It was concluded that the index showed no improvement with respect to 2019, likewise the social gaps still persist and the well-being of the aforementioned population was not increased.


2016 ◽  
Vol 61 (03) ◽  
pp. 1640015 ◽  
Author(s):  
DANIEL SGROI ◽  
EUGENIO PROTO ◽  
ANDREW J. OSWALD ◽  
ALEXANDER DOBSON

Professor EJ Mishan was a world expert on the idea of externalities. In this paper, we provide evidence for the intuitive idea of “emotional externalities”. These might be viewed as psychological spillovers from the well-being of one person upon the well-being of another. A new form of laboratory experiment is implemented. “Happiness” answers are elicited in the first few seconds of the experiment. Tragic life events — like family illness and bereavement — are then studied. The paper documents evidence consistent with a powerful caring-about-others effect. The paper’s results also suggest an approximate equivalence between life-satisfaction data and happiness data. Statistical offices should incorporate questions to capture people’s life evaluations, hedonic experiences and priorities … All these aspects of subjective well-being (cognitive evaluations, positive affects and negative affects) should be measured separately to get a satisfactory appreciation of people’s lives. Which of these aspects matters more, and for what purpose, is still an open question. Stiglitz et al., Commission on the Measurement of Economic Performance and Social Progress, 2009


2012 ◽  
Author(s):  
Francesco Sarracino

In the long run economic growth does not improve people's well-being. Traditional theories – adaptation and social comparisons – explain this evidence, but they don't explain what shapes the trend of subjective well-being and its differences across countries. Recent research identified in social capital a plausible candidate to explain the trends of well-being. This dissertation adopts various econometric techniques to explore the relationship over time among social capital, economic growth and subjective well-being. The main conclusion is that social capital is a good predictor of the trend of subjective well-being, both within and across countries. Hence, policies for well-being should aim at preserving and enhancing social capital for the quality of the social environment matters.


2018 ◽  
Vol 52 (12) ◽  
pp. 2356-2377 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ann Veeck ◽  
Hongyan Yu ◽  
Hongli Zhang ◽  
Hong Zhu ◽  
Fang (Grace) Yu

Purpose The purpose of this study is to explore the association between eating patterns, social identity and the well-being of adolescents via a mixed methods study of Chinese teenagers. The specific research questions presented in this study are as follows: What is the relationship between social eating and well-being? How is the relationship between social eating and well-being mediated by social identity? Design/methodology/approach This study is based on a sequential mixed methods study, including interviews with 16 teenage–parent dyads, and a large-scale survey of over 1,000 teenagers on their eating patterns, conducted with the support of public schools. A model that tests relationships among social eating, social identity and subjective well-being is developed and tested. Findings The results show that dining with family members leads to improved subjective well-being for teenagers, through a partial mediator of stronger family identity. However, dining with peers is not found to influence subjective well-being. Research limitations/implications The privileged position of family meals demonstrated through this study may be an artifact of the location of this study in one Chinese city. Further research is needed related to the connections among social identity, objective well-being and the social patterns of teenagers’ food consumption behavior. Practical implications To improve the subjective well-being of teenagers, families, public policy-makers and food marketers should support food consumption patterns that promote family meals. Originality/value While many food-related consumer studies focus on the individual, social and environmental influences of food choices of adolescents, few studies address how eating patterns affect overall well-being. These results reinforce the importance of understanding the effect of the social context of teenagers’ eating patterns on health and well-being.


First Monday ◽  
2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hassan Masum ◽  
Mark Tovey

Algorithmic genies built from growing computational capabilities bring risks like automating well-paying jobs, yet we suggest that if supplied with suitable goals and supporting infrastructure they can help in meeting many human needs. We argue that algorithmic genies can be harnessed to raise the baseline experience of people worldwide (raising the floor), especially if such harnessing is informed by wide consensus and deep evidence. Examples show how algorithmic genies could raise the floor for widely agreed human needs like health, education, and other components of the Social Progress Index. Ensuring that both the least well off and the majority share in the benefits of progress can help to ensure the floor is raised for all (floored progress). Floored progress can apply beyond basic human needs to problems that people across the economic spectrum struggle with (shared floors). We include three tables with illustrative opportunities, and conclude by summarizing the value of raising floors individually and in concert.


Author(s):  
Zekun Zhou ◽  
Duo Yin ◽  
Quan Gao

Watching videos/livestreams concerning pets is becoming an increasingly popular phenomenon among youth in China, thus the social dynamics and psychological impacts of this pet-centred online activities worth in-depth exploration. This study investigates the sensual experiences of the audiences who have watched pet videos/livestreams and examines how these online experiences influence their subjective well-being. We develop a conceptual model that bases on the relationships between telepresence, social presence, flow experience, and subjective well-being to comprehend this mechanism. The result of 439 samples indicates that both telepresence and social presence have significant positive effects on flow experience, and social presence also has a positive impact on subjective well-being. We also examine the role of loneliness and perceived stress in moderating the effects of online pet watching on subjective well-being, showing that loneliness has a significant positive moderating effect on the relationship between social presence and flow experience, while perceived pressure has a negative moderating effect on the relationship between telepresence and flow experience. This study not only demonstrates the positive effect of an online pet on subjective well-being and but also uses interview data to comprehend the social processes underlying this effect. We also discuss the theoretical and practical values of this study in improving public health in the digital age.


2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (20) ◽  
pp. 5651 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chenghua Guan ◽  
Yingjie Qiu ◽  
Ruopeng An

Life satisfaction is a key component of people’s subjective well-being. This study assessed the relationship between relative income and life satisfaction among Chinese adults, using data from a cross-sectional survey. Individual-level data (N = 1369) came from the 2016 China Genuine Progress indicator Survey (CGPiS) conducted in Beijing and Chengdu, China. Ordered logistic regressions were performed to examine the relationship between relative income and life satisfaction among CGPiS adult respondents. Respondents’ life satisfaction was positively associated with relative income in comparison to their relatives and friends but not associated with relative income in comparison to their residing community and city. Subgroup analyses replicated the findings among male respondents and respondents with good or excellent self-rated health. In contrast, female respondents’ life satisfaction was positively associated with relative income in comparison to their city of residence, but not associated with relative income in comparison to their relatives, friends, and residing community. Life satisfaction among those with poor or fair self-rated health was not associated with any of the four dimensions of relative income. Relative income in comparison to relatives and friends was positively associated with life satisfaction in Chinese adults. Future studies adopting a longitudinal or experimental design are warranted to replicate the findings.


2018 ◽  
Vol 14 (3) ◽  
pp. 78 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hanaa Abdelaty Hasan Esmail ◽  
Nedra Nouredeen Jomaa Shili

It is generally assumed that happiness is a major source of motivation. Though economic growth remains the main goal of all nations, nowadays a society with happy people is an objective to aim at. From this raises the issue of the relationship between happiness and economic growth.In this paper, researchers try to find how people’s happiness influences GDP and economic development. But before that they focused on the question of how happiness is achieved. In order to do so, we start by directly asking Jazan’s habitants through a survey about the source of their subjective well-being and what themselves say about what makes them happy. Then how do these sources of happiness influence their economic performance and participation in GDP growth. The sample’s answers have been formed according to the quintuple likert scale. We used the statistical technique of Cronbach’s Alpha to measure the credibility of the sample’s answers.Researchers used the analytical descriptive methodology in order to analyze all collected data. Results show that social factors are the most important factors drivers of happiness and therefore influencing positively individual’s contribution in economic development of Jazan region. However, economic factors and political factors show that social factors are the main sources of happiness for our sample leading to a better economic development.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document