Measuring Well-Being and Its Multidimensional Determinants Across Individuals and the Life Course

This project develops and applies methods to compare the overall personal well-being of different individuals using answers to survey questions asking respondents to rate many aspects of well-being. Comparing well-being across individuals and groups is a crucial input to many scientific endeavors: (1) using cross-sectional data to study the determinants of well-being or to study changes in well-being over the life course, (2) studying inequality in well-being, which in turn is necessary for aggregating personal well-being into a measure of social welfare, and (3) quantifying the extent of group advantage or disadvantage when nonmarket goods are taken into account. NBER personnel will be involved in all aspects of the project.