Using Subjective Well-being as a Headline Indicator in Dashboards to Track Human Progress
Date
Authors
Burger, Martijn
Courchesne, Sarah
Greyling, Talita
O'Connor, Kelsey
Rossouw, Stephanie
Sarracino, Francesco
Veenhoven, Ruut
Supervisor
Item type
Journal Article
Degree name
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Springer
Abstract
Gross Domestic Product (GDP) has long been used as a proxy for human progress, despite growing recognition of its limitations. Recently, numerous “beyond GDP” initiatives have emerged, promoting multidimensional dashboards to assess quality of life. However, these often lack a clear headline indicator, limiting their usefulness for policymaking and public communication. This paper argues for placing subjective well-being (SWB) at the center of progress measurement in dashboards. SWB captures the overall impact of life conditions on people’s lived experiences and offers a clear, outcome-oriented metric aligned with what truly matters: a good life. We explore how SWB can serve as a headline indicator, complemented by measures of the conditions that support it, to improve policy relevance, accountability, and legitimacy. We also address key measurement challenges and propose ways to overcome them for more effective integration into decision-making frameworks.Description
Keywords
380119 Welfare economics, 1608 Sociology, 1701 Psychology, Social Psychology, 4410 Sociology, 5201 Applied and developmental psychology, Beyond GDP, Quality of life, Measures, Subjective well-being
Source
Applied Research in Quality of Life, ISSN: 1871-2584 (Print); 1871-2576 (Online), Springer. doi: 10.1007/s11482-026-10576-9
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