Beyond Happiness and Satisfaction: Toward Well-Being Indices Based on Stated Preference

Area of Science:

• Social Sciences
• Psychology
• Economics

Background:

• Existing well-being metrics often lack a comprehensive, measurable framework.
• Understanding individual utility requires identifying and quantifying fundamental well-being aspects.

Purpose of the Study:

• To propose foundations and a methodology for survey-based well-being tracking.
• To develop a theoretical framework where utility is dependent on measurable fundamental aspects.
• To create an individual-level well-being index.

Main Methods:

• Developed a theory linking utility to fundamental well-being aspects measurable via surveys.
• Compiled a comprehensive list of fundamental well-being aspects from psychology, philosophy, and economics.
• Estimated relative marginal utilities using preference data from ~4,600 U.S. survey respondents on aspect bundles.

Main Results:

• Identified key aspects of well-being, including family, health, security, values, freedom, happiness, and life satisfaction.
• Estimated high relative marginal utilities for these fundamental aspects.
• Demonstrated a methodology for constructing an individual-level well-being index.

Conclusions:

• The proposed survey-based methodology provides a robust framework for tracking well-being.
• Fundamental aspects like family, health, and happiness are crucial drivers of individual utility and well-being.
• The study offers a quantifiable approach to assessing subjective well-being.