The DOI matches its Crossref record; 127 of the 133 references it cites were found in a registry or an index; 11 of the 56 sources its claims cite were checked for support.
Measuring Subjective Wellbeing: Recommendations on Measures for use by National Governments
Open accessAbstract
Abstract Governments around the world are now beginning to seriously consider the use of measures of subjective wellbeing (SWB) – ratings of thoughts and feelings about life – for monitoring progress and for informing and appraising public policy. The mental state account of wellbeing upon which SWB measures are based can provide useful additional information about who is doing well and badly in life when compared to that provided by the objective list and preference satisfaction accounts. It may be particularly useful when deciding how best to allocate scarce resources, where it is desirable to express the benefits of intervention in a single metric that can be compared to the costs of intervention. There are three main concepts of SWB in the literature – evaluation (life satisfaction), experience (momentary mood) and eudemonia (purpose) – and policy-makers should seek to measure all three, at least for the purposes of monitoring progress. There are some major challenges to the use of SWB measures. Two related and well-rehearsed issues are the effects of expectations and adaptation on ratings. The degree to which we should allow wellbeing to vary according to expectations and adaptation are vexing moral problems but information on SWB can highlight what difference allowing for these considerations would have in practice (e.g. in informing prioiritisation decisions), which can then be fed into the normative debate. There are also questions about precisely what attention shoul…
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Claims the paper makes
17 No full text of the sources · 12 Own interpretation · 8 Sources not found · 5 Partly supported · 4 Supported · 4 Not checked yet · 2 Own method · 1 Supported so far · 1 No basis given · accuracy not yet measured
Every source the paper cites for this claim was checked and supports it.
In the paper
“The evidence from the literature assessing the link between income and SWB is that this relationship is positive and modest (Stevenson and Wolfers, 2008), although there are some differences depending on what measure of SWB is used (Kahneman and Deaton, 2010), and whether other people's income is included in the assessment (Luttmer, 2005;Layard et al., 2010).”
§ Measuring Subjective Wellbeing: Recommendations on Measures for use by National Governments > Accounts of wellbeing
What the sources say
- Supportedcites Stevenson and Wolfers, 2008 source
The Discussion (page unavailable) reports positive well-being–income gradients centered around 0.4 across multiple datasets, consistent with the claim’s characterization of a positive, modest association. The paper describes these as correlations, not established causal effects. (LLM, conf=0.84)
plaincorrelational- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
- Checkable: passes — It can be checked against evidence.
- Load-bearing: unclear — It is unclear whether the paper’s conclusions depend on it.
- Based: passes — The paper gives a reason why it holds.
- Supported
Every source the paper cites for this claim was checked and supports it.
In the paper
“It is possible to estimate monetary values for non-market goods from SWB data by estimating the amount of income that has exactly the same effect on SWB as the non-market good (Dolan et al., 2011).”
§ Measuring Subjective Wellbeing: Recommendations on Measures for use by National Governments > Uses of the accounts
What the sources say
- Supportedcites Dolan et al., 2011
Section 2, “SWB, Cardinal Utility, and Income Compensations,” says monetary values can be estimated from the marginal rate of substitution between income and a good, and defines the value as the income required to hold utility constant without that good. The Conclusion likewise describes income compensation that holds well-being constant when the good changes. This supports the citing sentence’s description of the method. (LLM, conf=0.94)
hedgeddirect- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
- Checkable: passes — It can be checked against evidence.
- Load-bearing: passes — The paper’s conclusions depend on it.
- Based: passes — The paper gives a reason why it holds.
- Supported
The cited sources support only part of this claim — read each source’s verdict below.
In the paper
“Frick et al. (2006) show that respondents in the German Socio-Economic Panel have a tendency to move away from the endpoints of response scales over time.”
§ Measuring Subjective Wellbeing: Recommendations on Measures for use by National Governments > Some challenges
What the sources say
- Partly supportedcites Frick et al. (2006) sourceExperimental — accuracy not yet measured
The Results (pp. 25, 30) say that SOEP respondents were more likely to choose the highest life-satisfaction categories in early waves, and the authors report a narrowing difference over time. That supports movement away from the high end of one satisfaction scale, but not a general tendency to move away from both endpoints of response scales. (LLM, conf=0.87)
plaincorrelational- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
- Checkable: passes — It can be checked against evidence.
- Load-bearing: unclear — It is unclear whether the paper’s conclusions depend on it.
- Based: passes — The paper gives a reason why it holds.
- Partly supported
The cited sources support only part of this claim — read each source’s verdict below.
In the paper
“DRM data on affect have generally found weak associations between SWB and these events (Kahneman et al., 2004;Knabe et al., 2010).”
§ Measuring Subjective Wellbeing: Recommendations on Measures for use by National Governments > Experience measures
What the sources say
- Not checked — no full text of the sourcecites Kahneman et al., 2004 source
- Partly supportedcites Knabe et al., 2010 sourceExperimental — accuracy not yet measured
The Discussion (p. 27) reports that this DRM study found no significant difference in day-to-day experienced well-being between employed and unemployed people, despite a difference in life satisfaction. That supports a weak association for unemployment, but the paper does not establish that DRM studies have generally found weak associations with the unspecified events in the claim. (LLM, conf=0.83)
plaincorrelational- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
- Checkable: passes — It can be checked against evidence.
- Load-bearing: unclear — It is unclear whether the paper’s conclusions depend on it.
- Based: passes — The paper gives a reason why it holds.
Every source the paper cites for this claim was checked and supports it.
In the paper
“There are some differences between life satisfaction and the ladder of life, notably in relation to income (Helliwell, 2008).”
§ Measuring Subjective Wellbeing: Recommendations on Measures for use by National Governments > Measuring SWB
What the sources say
- Supportedcites Helliwell, 2008 source
Section 5, “Comparison of National-Level World Values and Gallup Results” (page not supplied), compares WVS life satisfaction with the Gallup ladder measure and says income is more important to the Gallup measure. It also notes that the reason for the difference remains uncertain. (LLM, conf=0.93)
plaincorrelational- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
- Checkable: passes — It can be checked against evidence.
- Load-bearing: unclear — It is unclear whether the paper’s conclusions depend on it.
- Based: passes — The paper gives a reason why it holds.
- Supported
A conclusion the paper draws from its own results — it cites no other source for it, so there is none to check. The quote shows it is in the paper.
In the paper
“Our choice of account of wellbeing could clearly have important implications for who we think of as doing well or badly in life.”
§ Measuring Subjective Wellbeing: Recommendations on Measures for use by National Governments > Accounts of wellbeing
boostedconditional- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
- Checkable: passes — It can be checked against evidence.
- Load-bearing: passes — The paper’s conclusions depend on it.
- Based: passes — The paper gives a reason why it holds.
In the paper
“Life satisfaction has also been shown to differ across countries in ways that can also be explained by differences in freedoms, social capital and trust (Halpern, 2010).”
§ Measuring Subjective Wellbeing: Recommendations on Measures for use by National Governments > Measuring SWB
What the sources say
- Not matchedcites Halpern, 2010
Couldn’t be matched to a paper in Crossref, so it can’t be checked.
plaincorrelational- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
- Checkable: passes — It can be checked against evidence.
- Load-bearing: unclear — It is unclear whether the paper’s conclusions depend on it.
- Based: passes — The paper gives a reason why it holds.
- Not matched
None of the sources cited for this claim could be matched to a paper in Crossref, so there is nothing to check it against.
In the paper
“Indeed, the health economics literature is now showing that different quality of life weights would be derived from SWB data than from using more standard preference-based methods (Dolan and Kahneman, 2008;Dolan et al., forthcoming).”
§ Measuring Subjective Wellbeing: Recommendations on Measures for use by National Governments > Uses of the accounts
What the sources say
- Not matchedcites Dolan and Kahneman, 2008
Couldn’t be matched to a paper in Crossref, so it can’t be checked.
- Not matchedcites Dolan et al., forthcoming
Couldn’t be matched to a paper in Crossref, so it can’t be checked.
hedgedcorrelational- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
- Checkable: passes — It can be checked against evidence.
- Load-bearing: unclear — It is unclear whether the paper’s conclusions depend on it.
- Based: passes — The paper gives a reason why it holds.
- Not matched
In the paper
“Of course, none of these issues would matter much in practical terms if the different accounts produced similar results -but they often do not.”
§ Measuring Subjective Wellbeing: Recommendations on Measures for use by National Governments > Accounts of wellbeing
What the sources say
- Not checked — no full text of the sourcecites Peasgood, 2008 source
plain- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
- Checkable: passes — It can be checked against evidence.
- Load-bearing: passes — The paper’s conclusions depend on it.
- Based: passes — The paper gives a reason why it holds.
A conclusion the paper draws from its own results — it cites no other source for it, so there is none to check. The quote shows it is in the paper.
In the paper
“These are domains of policy that largely have a non-market consequence, and where SWB can potentially have a real impact on policy, especially as compared to preference satisfaction that focusses principally on changes in income.”
§ Measuring Subjective Wellbeing: Recommendations on Measures for use by National Governments > Uses of the accounts
hedgedconditional- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
- Checkable: passes — It can be checked against evidence.
- Load-bearing: passes — The paper’s conclusions depend on it.
- Based: passes — The paper gives a reason why it holds.
- Probably not a substantial claim. 14
- It may state two separate claims as one. 15
The cited sources support only part of this claim — read each source’s verdict below.
In the paper
“More specifically, SWB could be used to make a strong case for unemployment programmes given the significant reduction in SWB associated with any periods of unemployment (Clark et al., 2004;Clark, 2010).”
§ Measuring Subjective Wellbeing: Recommendations on Measures for use by National Governments > Uses of the accounts
What the sources say
- Partly supportedcites Clark et al., 2004 sourceExperimental — accuracy not yet measured
The Results (page unavailable) report that life satisfaction fell by more than half a point, on average, during the reaction phase of unemployment. But the Method (page unavailable) limits the study to people who experienced one unemployment episode and then remained employed; it does not establish a significant reduction in all measures of SWB for any period of unemployment. The case for unemployment programmes is the citing authors’ policy inference, not a finding attributed to this source. (LLM, conf=0.83)
- Not matchedcites Clark, 2010
Couldn’t be matched to a paper in Crossref, so it can’t be checked.
hedgedcorrelational- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
- Checkable: passes — It can be checked against evidence.
- Load-bearing: fails — The paper’s conclusions may not depend on it.
- Based: passes — The paper gives a reason why it holds.
Probably not a substantial claim. The paper’s conclusions may not depend on it.
- Partly supported
The sources with a verdict support this claim; the rest weren’t checked yet, have no full text we could read, or their verdicts aren’t rated yet.
In the paper
“although there are some differences depending on what measure of SWB is used (Kahneman and Deaton, 2010), and whether other people's income is included in the assessment (Luttmer, 2005;Layard et al., 2010).”
§ Measuring Subjective Wellbeing: Recommendations on Measures for use by National Governments > Accounts of wellbeing
What the sources say
- Supportedcites Kahneman and Deaton, 2010 source
The Discussion states that income relates differently to the two measures of subjective well-being: emotional well-being levels off at high income, while life evaluation does not. The clause about other people's income is attributed to different citations, not to Kahneman and Deaton. (LLM, conf=0.94)
- Not checked — no full text of the sourcecites Luttmer, 2005 source
- Supportedcites Layard et al., 2010 source
The Abstract says comparator income has a negative effect on happiness in the US and on life satisfaction in West Germany. The ‘Individual data 1972–now’ section likewise reports that adding comparator income changes the estimated income relationship. The separate point about differences between SWB measures is attributed to Kahneman and Deaton, not to this source. (LLM, conf=0.93)
plaincorrelational- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
- Checkable: passes — It can be checked against evidence.
- Load-bearing: passes — The paper’s conclusions depend on it.
- Based: passes — The paper gives a reason why it holds.
It may state two separate claims as one.
- Supported
The cited sources support only part of this claim — read each source’s verdict below.
In the paper
“Expected gains in SWB could be computed for different policy areas and this information could be used to decide which forms of spending will lead to the largest increases in SWB relative to their costs (Dolan and Metcalfe, 2008).”
§ Measuring Subjective Wellbeing: Recommendations on Measures for use by National Governments > Uses of the accounts
What the sources say
- Partly supportedcites Dolan and Metcalfe, 2008Experimental — accuracy not yet measured
The Conclusion (section 6; page unavailable) says SWB could generate monetary values for public policy and help inform the allocation of scarce resources. It does not describe computing expected SWB gains across different policy areas or ranking spending by SWB gain relative to cost; it also says the valuation method needs more research. (LLM, conf=0.82)
hedgeddirect- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
- Checkable: passes — It can be checked against evidence.
- Load-bearing: fails — The paper’s conclusions may not depend on it.
- Based: passes — The paper gives a reason why it holds.
Probably not a substantial claim. The paper’s conclusions may not depend on it.
- Partly supported
Every source the paper cites for this claim was checked and supports it.
In the paper
“In a comparison of 'eudemonic' measures and evaluations of life satisfaction and happiness, Ryff and Keyes (1995) found that self-acceptance and environmental mastery were associated with evaluations but that positive relations with others, purpose in life, personal growth and autonomy were less well correlated.”
§ Measuring Subjective Wellbeing: Recommendations on Measures for use by National Governments > Experience measures
What the sources say
- Supportedcites Ryff and Keyes, 1995 source
The Correlations With Other Measures section (p. 5) reports the strongest associations with happiness and life satisfaction for Self-Acceptance and Environmental Mastery, with weaker associations for the other four dimensions. The Discussion (p. 6) likewise describes the remaining four dimensions as having mixed or weak relationships with those measures. (LLM, conf=0.94)
plaincorrelational- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
- Checkable: passes — It can be checked against evidence.
- Load-bearing: passes — The paper’s conclusions depend on it.
- Based: passes — The paper gives a reason why it holds.
It may state two separate claims as one.
- Supported
The cited sources support only part of this claim — read each source’s verdict below.
In the paper
“Work on the Gallup Poll by Diener et al. (2010) and Kahneman and Deaton (2010) shows that income is more highly correlated with ladder of life responses than with feelings, which are themselves more highly correlated with health than the ladder.”
§ Measuring Subjective Wellbeing: Recommendations on Measures for use by National Governments > Experience measures
What the sources say
- Not matchedcites Diener et al., 2010
Couldn’t be matched to a paper in Crossref, so it can’t be checked.
- Supportedcites Kahneman and Deaton, 2010 source
The Discussion says income is more strongly related to life satisfaction than to happiness, and the Results show that life evaluation continues to rise with income after emotional well-being levels off. The Results also state that physical illness and headaches have relatively larger adverse associations with emotional well-being than with life evaluation. (LLM, conf=0.92)
plaincorrelational- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
- Checkable: passes — It can be checked against evidence.
- Load-bearing: unclear — It is unclear whether the paper’s conclusions depend on it.
- Based: passes — The paper gives a reason why it holds.
It may state two separate claims as one.
- Not matched
None of the sources cited for this claim could be matched to a paper in Crossref, so there is nothing to check it against.
In the paper
“There are three accounts of wellbeing (Parfit, 1984;Sumner, 1996) that meet the three conditions (i) objective lists; (ii) preference satisfaction; and (iii) mental states (or SWB).”
§ Measuring Subjective Wellbeing: Recommendations on Measures for use by National Governments > Accounts of wellbeing
What the sources say
- Not matchedcites Parfit, 1984
Couldn’t be matched to a paper in Crossref, so it can’t be checked.
- Not matchedcites Sumner, 1996
Couldn’t be matched to a paper in Crossref, so it can’t be checked.
plain- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
- Checkable: passes — It can be checked against evidence.
- Load-bearing: passes — The paper’s conclusions depend on it.
- Based: passes — The paper gives a reason why it holds.
It may state two separate claims as one.
- Not matched
None of the sources cited for this claim could be matched to a paper in Crossref, so there is nothing to check it against.
In the paper
“Following Parfit (1984), there are three main accounts of wellbeing -objective lists, preference satisfaction and mental states (or subjective wellbeing) -and all three are important for public policy.”
- Also stated in: § Accounts of wellbeing · plain
“There are three accounts of wellbeing (Parfit, 1984;Sumner, 1996) that meet the three conditions (i) objective lists; (ii) preference satisfaction; and (iii) mental states (or SWB).”
§ Measuring Subjective Wellbeing: Recommendations on Measures for use by National Governments > Introduction
What the sources say
- Not matchedcites Parfit, 1984
Couldn’t be matched to a paper in Crossref, so it can’t be checked.
- Not matchedcites Sumner, 1996
Couldn’t be matched to a paper in Crossref, so it can’t be checked.
plain- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
- Checkable: passes — It can be checked against evidence.
- Load-bearing: fails — The paper’s conclusions may not depend on it.
- Based: passes — The paper gives a reason why it holds.
Probably not a substantial claim. The paper’s conclusions may not depend on it.
- Also stated in: § Accounts of wellbeing · plain
None of the sources cited for this claim have been checked yet.
In the paper
“SWB can also be used for assessing the consequences of cigarette taxation (Gruber and Mullainatha, 2005), air pollution (Luechinger, 2009), flooding (Luechinger and Rasacky, 2009) and the risk of terrorism (Metcalfe et al., 2011).”
§ Measuring Subjective Wellbeing: Recommendations on Measures for use by National Governments > Uses of the accounts
What the sources say
plain- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
- Checkable: passes — It can be checked against evidence.
- Load-bearing: unclear — It is unclear whether the paper’s conclusions depend on it.
- Based: passes — The paper gives a reason why it holds.
It may state two separate claims as one.
None of the sources cited for this claim have been checked yet.
In the paper
“Importantly, some measures might be more or less amenable to change by individuals and policy-makers, thus impacting upon debates about agency in and over SWB (see Cooper and Lousada, 2005;Ryan and Sapp, 2007;Taylor, 2011).”
§ Measuring Subjective Wellbeing: Recommendations on Measures for use by National Governments > Introduction
What the sources say
hedgedconditional- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
- Checkable: fails — It may be too vague to check against evidence.
- Load-bearing: fails — The paper’s conclusions may not depend on it.
- Based: passes — The paper gives a reason why it holds.
Probably not a substantial claim. It may be too vague to check against evidence. The paper’s conclusions may not depend on it. It may state two separate claims as one.
None of the sources cited for this claim could be matched to a paper in Crossref, so there is nothing to check it against.
In the paper
“There are three main concepts of SWB in the literature -evaluation (life satisfaction), experience (momentary mood) and eudemonia (purpose) -and policy-makers should seek to measure all three, at least for the purposes of monitoring progress.”
- Also stated in: § Measuring SWB · plain
“Here we distinguish between three broad categories of measure: (i) evaluation; (ii) experience; and (iii) 'eudemonic'.”
§ Measuring Subjective Wellbeing: Recommendations on Measures for use by National Governments > Abstract
What the sources say
- Not matchedcites Kahneman and Riis, 2005
Couldn’t be matched to a paper in Crossref, so it can’t be checked.
- Not matchedcites Dolan et al., 2006
Couldn’t be matched to a paper in Crossref, so it can’t be checked.
- Not matchedcites Waldron, 2010
Couldn’t be matched to a paper in Crossref, so it can’t be checked.
plain- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
- Checkable: passes — It can be checked against evidence.
- Load-bearing: passes — The paper’s conclusions depend on it.
- Based: passes — The paper gives a reason why it holds.
Probably not a substantial claim.
- Also stated in: § Measuring SWB · plain
In the paper
“Life satisfaction has been shown to be correlated with income (both absolute and relative), employment status, marital status, health, personal characteristics (age, gender, and personality) and major life events (see Dolan et al. (2008) for a recent review).”
§ Measuring Subjective Wellbeing: Recommendations on Measures for use by National Governments > Measuring SWB
What the sources say
- Not matchedcites Dolan et al., 2008
Couldn’t be matched to a paper in Crossref, so it can’t be checked.
plaincorrelational- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
- Checkable: passes — It can be checked against evidence.
- Load-bearing: unclear — It is unclear whether the paper’s conclusions depend on it.
- Based: passes — The paper gives a reason why it holds.
It may state two separate claims as one.
- Not matched
In the paper
“Peasgood (2008) used the British Household Panel Survey (BHPS) to examine objective wellbeing, preference satisfaction and SWB scores for the same individuals.She shows that there is a dramatic difference between the accounts for those with children, people who commute long distances, those with a degree and between men and women.”
§ Measuring Subjective Wellbeing: Recommendations on Measures for use by National Governments > Accounts of wellbeing
What the sources say
- Not checked — no full text of the sourcecites Peasgood, 2008 source
plaincorrelational- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
- Checkable: passes — It can be checked against evidence.
- Load-bearing: unclear — It is unclear whether the paper’s conclusions depend on it.
- Based: passes — The paper gives a reason why it holds.
It may state two separate claims as one.
A conclusion the paper draws from its own results — it cites no other source for it, so there is none to check. The quote shows it is in the paper.
In the paper
“It may be particularly useful when deciding how best to allocate scarce resources, where it is desirable to express the benefits of intervention in a single metric that can be compared to the costs of intervention.”
§ Measuring Subjective Wellbeing: Recommendations on Measures for use by National Governments > Abstract
hedgedconditional- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
- Checkable: fails — It may be too vague to check against evidence.
- Load-bearing: passes — The paper’s conclusions depend on it.
- Based: passes — The paper gives a reason why it holds.
Probably not a substantial claim. It may be too vague to check against evidence.
A conclusion the paper draws from its own results — it cites no other source for it, so there is none to check. The quote shows it is in the paper.
In the paper
“Different approaches to measurement could have significant consequences for inferences drawn from SWB data.”
§ Measuring Subjective Wellbeing: Recommendations on Measures for use by National Governments > Introduction
hedgedconditional- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
- Checkable: fails — It may be too vague to check against evidence.
- Load-bearing: passes — The paper’s conclusions depend on it.
- Based: fails — The paper may give no reason why it holds.
Probably not a substantial claim. It may be too vague to check against evidence. The paper may give no reason why it holds.
A conclusion the paper draws from its own results — it cites no other source for it, so there is none to check. The quote shows it is in the paper.
In the paper
“Monitoring SWB could be important in ensuring that other changes that affect society do not reduce overall wellbeing.”
§ Measuring Subjective Wellbeing: Recommendations on Measures for use by National Governments > Uses of the accounts
hedgedconditional- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
- Checkable: fails — It may be too vague to check against evidence.
- Load-bearing: passes — The paper’s conclusions depend on it.
- Based: passes — The paper gives a reason why it holds.
Probably not a substantial claim. It may be too vague to check against evidence.
A conclusion the paper draws from its own results — it cites no other source for it, so there is none to check. The quote shows it is in the paper.
In the paper
“The mental state account of wellbeing upon which SWB measures are based can provide useful additional information about who is doing well and badly in life when compared to that provided by the objective list and preference satisfaction accounts.”
§ Measuring Subjective Wellbeing: Recommendations on Measures for use by National Governments > Abstract
plaincorrelational- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
- Checkable: passes — It can be checked against evidence.
- Load-bearing: passes — The paper’s conclusions depend on it.
- Based: fails — The paper may give no reason why it holds.
Probably not a substantial claim. The paper may give no reason why it holds.
The paper states this without a source or data behind it here, so there is nothing to check it against. The quote shows it is in the paper.
In the paper
“There has not been a thorough comparison of the three measures of SWB due to no large-scale longitudinal or repeated cross-sectional survey containing all the measures.”
§ Measuring Subjective Wellbeing: Recommendations on Measures for use by National Governments > Experience measures
plain- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
- Checkable: passes — It can be checked against evidence.
- Load-bearing: fails — The paper’s conclusions may not depend on it.
- Based: fails — The paper may give no reason why it holds.
Probably not a substantial claim. The paper’s conclusions may not depend on it. The paper may give no reason why it holds.
A claim is checked only against the cited paper’s full text, never its abstract, and none is available for its sources.
In the paper
“Some conditions, like unemployment it seems, continue to draw attention to them and continue to affect SWB long after the event (Lucas et al., 2003;Lucas, 2005).”
§ Measuring Subjective Wellbeing: Recommendations on Measures for use by National Governments > Some challenges
What the sources say
hedgeddirect- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
- Checkable: passes — It can be checked against evidence.
- Load-bearing: unclear — It is unclear whether the paper’s conclusions depend on it.
- Based: passes — The paper gives a reason why it holds.
It may state two separate claims as one.
A conclusion the paper draws from its own results — it cites no other source for it, so there is none to check. The quote shows it is in the paper.
In the paper
“Some of these surveys use a scale running from completely dissatisfied to completely satisfied, and they do not make clear where on the scale dissatisfied stops and satisfied starts.This makes it difficult to interpret the scores.”
§ Measuring Subjective Wellbeing: Recommendations on Measures for use by National Governments > Recommendations and conclusion
plaindirect- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
- Checkable: passes — It can be checked against evidence.
- Load-bearing: passes — The paper’s conclusions depend on it.
- Based: passes — The paper gives a reason why it holds.
Probably not a substantial claim.
- Rests on an assumption: Some surveys use a scale running from completely dissatisfied to completely satisfied and do not make clear where on the scale dissatisfied stops and satisfied starts.
In the paper
“For life satisfaction, it appears that unemployment is very bad, marriage is pretty good at least to start with, children have no effect, retirement is pretty good at least to start, but there is considerable heterogeneity (Calvo et al., 2007).”
§ Measuring Subjective Wellbeing: Recommendations on Measures for use by National Governments > Experience measures
What the sources say
- Not checked — no full text of the sourcecites Calvo et al., 2007
hedgedcorrelational- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
- Checkable: passes — It can be checked against evidence.
- Load-bearing: unclear — It is unclear whether the paper’s conclusions depend on it.
- Based: passes — The paper gives a reason why it holds.
It may state two separate claims as one.
In the paper
“The relationship between earlier and later responses can be seen as an issue of scaling and salience: if later responses are influenced by earlier ones, then the earlier ones are salient at the time of the later assessment (as shown in the study by Dolan and Metcalfe, 2010).”
§ Measuring Subjective Wellbeing: Recommendations on Measures for use by National Governments > Some challenges
What the sources say
- Not checked — no full text of the sourcecites Dolan and Metcalfe, 2010 source
boostedconditional- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
- Checkable: passes — It can be checked against evidence.
- Load-bearing: unclear — It is unclear whether the paper’s conclusions depend on it.
- Based: passes — The paper gives a reason why it holds.
It may state two separate claims as one.
In the paper
“Evaluations and experience-based measures may sometimes produce similar results (Blanchflower, 2009), but often they do not.”
§ Measuring Subjective Wellbeing: Recommendations on Measures for use by National Governments > Experience measures
What the sources say
- Not checked — no full text of the sourcecites Blanchflower, 2009 source
hedgedcorrelational- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
- Checkable: passes — It can be checked against evidence.
- Load-bearing: unclear — It is unclear whether the paper’s conclusions depend on it.
- Based: passes — The paper gives a reason why it holds.
It may state two separate claims as one.
In the paper
“There is some evidence, however, that positive and negative affect are somewhat independent of one another and should therefore be measured separately (Diener and Emmons, 1984).”
§ Measuring Subjective Wellbeing: Recommendations on Measures for use by National Governments > Experience measures
What the sources say
- Not matchedcites Diener and Emmons, 1984
Couldn’t be matched to a paper in Crossref, so it can’t be checked.
hedgedcorrelational- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
- Checkable: passes — It can be checked against evidence.
- Load-bearing: passes — The paper’s conclusions depend on it.
- Based: passes — The paper gives a reason why it holds.
It may state two separate claims as one.
- Not matched
In the paper
“For example, time spent with children is relatively more rewarding than pleasurable, and time spent watching televisions is relatively more pleasurable than rewarding.”
§ Measuring Subjective Wellbeing: Recommendations on Measures for use by National Governments > Experience measures
What the sources say
- Not checked — no full text of the sourcecites White and Dolan, 2009 source
plaincorrelational- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
- Checkable: passes — It can be checked against evidence.
- Load-bearing: fails — The paper’s conclusions may not depend on it.
- Based: passes — The paper gives a reason why it holds.
Probably not a substantial claim. The paper’s conclusions may not depend on it. It may state two separate claims as one.
A conclusion the paper draws from its own results — it cites no other source for it, so there is none to check. The quote shows it is in the paper.
In the paper
“But information on all three accounts of wellbeing can illuminate what difference expectations and adaptation make in practice and such information can be fed into the normative debate.”
§ Measuring Subjective Wellbeing: Recommendations on Measures for use by National Governments > Some challenges
plaincorrelational- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
- Checkable: fails — It may be too vague to check against evidence.
- Load-bearing: passes — The paper’s conclusions depend on it.
- Based: passes — The paper gives a reason why it holds.
Probably not a substantial claim. It may be too vague to check against evidence. It may state two separate claims as one.
A conclusion the paper draws from its own results — it cites no other source for it, so there is none to check. The quote shows it is in the paper.
In the paper
“In practice, what counts as a good life is going to be dynamic too.”
§ Measuring Subjective Wellbeing: Recommendations on Measures for use by National Governments > Some challenges
hedged- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
- Checkable: fails — It may be too vague to check against evidence.
- Load-bearing: passes — The paper’s conclusions depend on it.
- Based: passes — The paper gives a reason why it holds.
Probably not a substantial claim. It may be too vague to check against evidence.
The paper relies on this without support.
There is an urgent need to consider how best to measure SWB in large samples.
“This paper and its motivation derives directly from the urgent need to consider how best to measure SWB in large samples.”
The paper relies on this without support.
There is a need for a fuller consideration of, and conceptual clarity about, how SWB should be measured for policy purposes.
“but there is a need for a fuller consideration of, and conceptual clarity about, how SWB should be measured for policy purposes.”
The paper relies on this without support.
Using happiness or life satisfaction yields very similar results, in terms of the impact of key variables.
“Using happiness or life satisfaction yields very similar results, in terms of the impact of key variables.”
The paper relies on this without support.
Some surveys use a scale running from completely dissatisfied to completely satisfied and do not make clear where on the scale dissatisfied stops and satisfied starts.
“Some of these surveys use a scale running from completely dissatisfied to completely satisfied, and they do not make clear where on the scale dissatisfied stops and satisfied starts.”
The paper relies on this without support.
The experience measures generally calibrate the scales from 'not at all'.
“the experience measures generally calibrate the scales from 'not at all'.”
The paper relies on this without support.
The BHPS does not ask about satisfaction with mental wellbeing and with the wellbeing of your children.
“The BHPS does not ask about satisfaction with mental wellbeing and with the wellbeing of your children, which are obvious omissions from the BHPS domains.”
The paper relies on this without support.
Both mental wellbeing and the wellbeing of your children are potentially important determinants of wellbeing.
“Both of these domains are potentially important determinants of wellbeing (as distinct, in the case of children, from simply knowing whether someone has children or not).”
The paper relies on this without support.
Mental health measures are most likely to only pick up the negative side of the domain.
“It is important to ask about general mental wellbeing and not mental health, since the latter is most likely to only pick up the negative side of the domain.”
The paper relies on this without support.
Expectations and adaptation feed directly into scaling effects.
“Expectations and adaptation feed directly into scaling effects.”
The paper relies on this without support.
The GSOEP, WVS and Defra surveys use a 0-10 scale.
“The GSOEP, WVS and Defra surveys use a 0-10 scale.”
The paper relies on this without support.
There are no general questions about purpose and meaning in life.
“There are no general questions about purpose and meaning in life and so we have based our recommendations on a suggestion by Felicia Huppert.”
Self-check
Percentages, sums and reported differences re-computed from the paper’s own numbers.
Each contradiction between two passages listed here was confirmed by an independent check.
Rated major: it would touch a result — a value a result rests on, reported and recomputed p-values on opposite sides of the significance level, two passages that conflict with no sign which is right, or a cited work retracted before this paper was published.
In the paper
§ Measuring Subjective Wellbeing: Recommendations on Measures for use by National Governments > Recommendations and conclusion
“(iii) Overall, how anxious did you feel yesterday?”
§ Measuring Subjective Wellbeing: Recommendations on Measures for use by National Governments > Recommendations and conclusion
“3. Overall, how worried did you feel yesterday?”
Rated minor: it would not touch a result — a value no result rests on, a p-value that stays on the same side of the significance level, or a conflict that is clerical, resolved elsewhere in the paper, or outside its own findings.
In the paper
§ Measuring Subjective Wellbeing: Recommendations on Measures for use by National Governments > Some challenges
“According to Kahneman and Thaler (2005), a main reason for adaptation is attention”
§ Measuring Subjective Wellbeing: Recommendations on Measures for use by National Governments > References
“66. Kahneman, D. and Thaler, R. H. (2006), 'Anomalies: utility maximization and experienced utility'”
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Cited by
Sorted by citations
Advances in subjective well-being research
Diener, E., Oishi, S., & Tay, L. (2018) · Nature Human Behaviour · doi:10.1038/s41562-018-0307-6 · Cited by 2,003
Happiness is greater in natural environments
MacKerron, G., & Mourato, S. (2013) · Global Environmental Change · doi:10.1016/j.gloenvcha.2013.03.010 · Cited by 899
“Dolan and Metcalfe (2012) provide a useful summary, distinguishing three broad accounts: objective lists, in which wellbeing is the fulfilment of a fixed set of material, psychological and social needs, identified exogenously; preference satisfaction, the standard economic view, in which wellbeing consists in the free…”
BackgroundCurry, O. S., Rowland, L. A., Van Lissa, C. J., Zlotowitz, S., McAlaney, J., & Whitehouse, H. (2018) · Journal of Experimental Social Psychology · doi:10.1016/j.jesp.2018.02.014 · Cited by 528
“Subjective well-being – including happiness, life-satisfaction and positive a ff ect – refers to a range positively valenced psychological states (Dolan & Metcalfe, 2012; OECD, 2013).”
What works for wellbeing? A systematic review of wellbeing outcomes for music and singing in adults.
Daykin, N., Mansfield, L., Meads, C., Julier, G., Tomlinson, A., Payne, A., Grigsby Duffy, L., Lane, J., D’Innocenzo, G., Burnett, A., et al. (2018) · Perspectives in Public Health · doi:10.1177/1757913917740391 · Cited by 348
“Healthy older adults Seven studies with healthy adults were divided between music listening (3), singing (3) and music making (1).”
BackgroundSelf-citationImpacts of festivals and events on residents’ well-being
Yolal, M., Gürsoy, D., Uysal, M., Kim, H. L., & Karacaoğlu, S. (2016) · Annals of Tourism Research · doi:10.1016/j.annals.2016.07.008 · Cited by 324
Social relations and life satisfaction: the role of friends
Amati, V., Meggiolaro, S., Rivellini, G., & Zaccarin, S. (2018) · Genus · doi:10.1186/s41118-018-0032-z · Cited by 263
“Social relations, friendship, and life satisfaction Subjective well-being refers to the many types of evaluations that people make of their lives (Diener 2006) and is conceptualized and measured in different ways and with different proxies (Kahneman and Deaton 2010; Dolan and Metcalfe 2012).”
BackgroundJones, L., & Tanner, T. (2016) · Regional Environmental Change · doi:10.1007/s10113-016-0995-2 · Cited by 332
“Indeed, similar approaches have been proposed for the evaluation of national social and economic policies by collecting well-being and life evaluation data (Dolan and Metcalfe 2012; Diener 2000).”
MethodA happy choice: wellbeing as the goal of government
Frijters, P., Clark, A., Krekel, C., & Layard, R. (2020) · Behavioural Public Policy · doi:10.1017/bpp.2019.39 · Cited by 183
Moore, G. F., Cox, R., Evans, R., Hallingberg, B., Hawkins, J. L., Littlecott, H., Long, S. J., & Murphy, S. (2018) · Child Indicators Research · doi:10.1007/s12187-017-9524-1 · Cited by 228
“…consensus on how to best measure subjective wellbeing in young people; in this study, an evaluative measure of global wellbeing was used (life satisfaction), as opposed to an experience (momentary affect) or eudemonia (purpose) measure (Dolan, Layard, & Metcalfe, 2011; Dolan & Metcalfe, 2012).”
The behavioral turn in flood risk management, its assumptions and potential implications
Kuhlicke, C., Seebauer, S., Hudson, P., Begg, C., Bubeck, P., Dittmer, C., Grothmann, T., Heidenreich, A., Kreibich, H., Lorenz, D. F., et al. (2020) · Wiley Interdisciplinary Reviews Water · doi:10.1002/wat2.1418 · Cited by 236
“We therefore propose three overarching principles (Dolan & Metcalfe, 2012).”
BackgroundThe Good, the Bad, and the Ugly: A Unified Approach to Behavioral Welfare Economics
Bernheim, B. D. (2016) · Journal of Benefit-Cost Analysis · doi:10.1017/bca.2016.5 · Cited by 204
Teacher wellbeing and resilience: towards an integrative model
Hascher, T., Beltman, S., & Mansfield, C. F. (2021) · Educational Research · doi:10.1080/00131881.2021.1980416 · Cited by 301
“As such, it serves as an indicator of a successful fulfilment of the professional role and meaningfulness, which highlights the eudemonic or meaning-oriented (instead of hedonic or pleasure-oriented) character of teacher wellbeing (Deci and Ryan 2008; Dolan and Metcalfe 2012).”
BackgroundBryson, A., & MacKerron, G. (2015) · The Economic Journal · doi:10.1111/ecoj.12269 · Cited by 193
Subjective Well-Being in China, 2005-2010: The Role of Relative Income, Gender and Location
Asadullah, M. N., Xiao, S., & Yeoh, E. (2015) · China Economic Review · doi:10.1016/j.chieco.2015.12.010 · Cited by 186
Addressing the Social Determinants of Subjective Wellbeing: The Latest Challenge for Social Policy
Deeming, C. (2013) · Journal of Social Policy · doi:10.1017/s0047279413000202 · Cited by 191
“Broadly speaking, as Dolan and Metcalfe (2012) maintain, there are three main theoretical strands underpinning the measurement of SWB which are relevant to this study: • The ‘evaluative’ approach to SWB asks individuals to reflect on their life and make a cognitive assessment of how their life is…”
BackgroundMethodInfluentialThe bright side of online consumer behavior: Continuance intention for mobile payments
Purohit, S., Arora, R., & Paul, J. (2022) · Journal of Consumer Behaviour · doi:10.1002/cb.2017 · Cited by 196
Mansfield, L., Daykin, N., & Kay, T. (2020) · Leisure Studies · doi:10.1080/02614367.2020.1713195 · Cited by 163
The Relationship Between Satisfaction With Life and Depression Symptoms by Gender
Gigantesco, A., Fagnani, C., Toccaceli, V., Stazi, M. A., Lucidi, F., Violani, C., & Picardi, A. (2019) · Frontiers in Psychiatry · doi:10.3389/fpsyt.2019.00419 · Cited by 140
“Recently, it was suggested to use measures of subjective well-being (SWB) to make mental healthrelated evaluations and inform policy decisions (10).”
BackgroundJones, L. (2018) · Wiley Interdisciplinary Reviews Climate Change · doi:10.1002/wcc.552 · Cited by 163
“…and preferences (Maxwell et al., 2015), drawing on the conceptual and methodological advances made in related fields such as measurements of risk perception (Mills et al., 2016), psychological resilience (Connor & Davidson, 2003) and subjective well-being (Diener, 2006; Dolan & Metcalfe, 2012).”
BackgroundDavern, M. T., Gunn, L., Whitzman, C., Higgs, C., Giles‐Corti, B., Simons, K., Villanueva, K., Mavoa, S., Roberts, R. J., & Badland, H. M. (2017) · Cities & Health · doi:10.1080/23748834.2018.1443620 · Cited by 134
“…in Table 3 for each of the 4 models tested – i.e. access to social the OECD (2013) the UK’s Office for National Statistics (Dolan and Metcalfe 2011; Dolan and Metcalfe 2012) and the need for more efforts to identify the social, economic and political conditions that promote the SWB of…”
BackgroundResultSimpson, J., Albani, V., Bell, Z., Bambra, C. L., & Brown, H. (2021) · Social Science & Medicine · doi:10.1016/j.socscimed.2021.113717 · Cited by 132
Navarrete-Hernández, P., & Laffan, K. M. (2019) · Landscape and Urban Planning · doi:10.1016/j.landurbplan.2019.103618 · Cited by 137
The relationship between innovation and subjective wellbeing
Dolan, P., & Metcalfe, R. (2012) · Research Policy · doi:10.1016/j.respol.2012.04.001 · Cited by 120
“Given the recommendations by Dolan et al. (2011) and Dolan and Metcalfe (2012) on the measures of SWB that can be collected by governments, the ONS will now have include four measures of SWB in its HIS, which includes the UK labour force survey.”
BackgroundSelf-citationThe effect of resident-tourist value co-creation on residents’ well-being
Chen, Y., Cottam, E., & Lin, Z. (2020) · Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Management · doi:10.1016/j.jhtm.2020.05.009 · Cited by 133
Wellbeing and Society: Towards Quantification of the Co-benefits of Wellbeing
Maccagnan, A., Wren-Lewis, S., Brown, H., & Taylor, T. (2018) · Social Indicators Research · doi:10.1007/s11205-017-1826-7 · Cited by 133
Poorer without It? The Neglected Role of the Natural Environment in Poverty and Wellbeing
Schleicher, J., Schaafsma, M., Burgess, N. D., Sandbrook, C. G., Danks, F., Cowie, C., & Vira, B. (2017) · Sustainable Development · doi:10.1002/sd.1692 · Cited by 117
Mansfield, L., Kay, T., Meads, C., Grigsby-Duffy, L., Lane, J., John, A., Daykin, N., Dolan, P., Testoni, S., Julier, G., et al. (2018) · BMJ Open · doi:10.1136/bmjopen-2017-020959 · Cited by 103
“1136/bmjopen-2017-020959 Open access and SWB have been reported and sport engagement is included in national-level data collection and analysis.(10) Significant associations have been found between engagement in sport, the arts and enhanced SWB as measured by life satisfaction.”
MethodSelf-citationSubjective well‐being: what do adolescents say?
Navarro, D., Montserrat, C., Malo, S., et al. (2015) · Child & Family Social Work · doi:10.1111/cfs.12215 · Cited by 98
Adler, M. D., Dolan, P., & Kavetsos, G. (2017) · Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization · doi:10.1016/j.jebo.2017.05.006 · Cited by 105
“To assess respondents’ own SWB, we first ask the following four questions, using an 11-point scale (0-10), used by the ONS in the UK (Dolan and Metcalfe, 2012): Overall, how satisfied are you”
BackgroundMethodInfluentialSelf-citationInoue, Y., Wann, D. L. L., Lock, D., Sato, M., Moore, C. C., & Funk, D. C. (2019) · Journal of Aging and Health · doi:10.1177/0898264319835654 · Cited by 94
“Because each measure is related yet separable (Dolan & Metcalfe, 2012), we specified each of the four items as a separate outcome variable for the analyses.”
BackgroundComparison of Cognitive Empathy, Emotional Empathy, and Social Functioning in Different Age Groups
Khanjani, Z., Jeddi, E., Hekmati, I., Khalilzade, S., Nia, M. E., Andalib, M., & Ashrafian, P. (2015) · Australian Psychologist · doi:10.1111/ap.12099 · Cited by 92
Dodd, A. L., Priestley, M., Tyrrell, K., Cygan, S., Newell, C., & Byrom, N. C. (2021) · Journal of Mental Health · doi:10.1080/09638237.2021.1875419 · Cited by 89
“To support a policy focus on well-being, clear definitions and consistent measures are necessary (Dodge et al., 2012; Dolan & Metcalfe, 2012).”
BackgroundMethodInfluentialJones, L., & d’Errico, M. (2019) · World Development · doi:10.1016/j.worlddev.2019.104632 · Cited by 87
A reconceptualisation of social value creation as social constraint alleviation
Sinkovics, N., Sinkovics, R. R., Hoque, S. F., & Czaban, L. (2015) · Critical Perspectives on International Business · doi:10.1108/cpoib-06-2014-0036 · Cited by 87
“…is empirical evidence that the effectiveness of an intervention can be measured by surveying the beneficiaries about their life satisfaction (cf. Dolan and Metcalfe, 2012; Hicks et al., 2013; Layard, 2010), it is still questionable whether this approach is able to differentiate between improved…”
BackgroundRonen, T., & Kerret, D. (2020) · International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health · doi:10.3390/ijerph17196968 · Cited by 112
Measuring 'Subjective Resilience': Using Peoples' Perceptions to Quantify Household ResiliencePreprint
Jones, L., & Tanner, T. (2015) · SSRN Electronic Journal · doi:10.2139/ssrn.2643420 · Cited by 81
“Indeed, similar approaches have been proposed for the evaluation of national social and economic policies by collecting well-being and life evaluation data (Dolan & Metcalfe, 2012; Diener, 2000).”
Gender segregation, underemployment and subjective well-being in the UK labour market
Kamerāde, D., & Richardson, H. (2017) · Human Relations · doi:10.1177/0018726717713829 · Cited by 82
“The questions related to ‘yesterday’ partly because ‘today’ would be unusual since respondents were being interviewed ‘today’ (Dolan and Metcalfe, 2012).”
Benson, T., Sladen, J., Liles, A., & Potts, H. W. W. (2019) · BMJ Open Quality · doi:10.1136/bmjoq-2018-000394 · Cited by 77
OECD: One or Many? Ranking Countries with a Composite Well-Being Indicator
Peiró‐Palomino, J., & Picazo‐Tadeo, A. J. (2017) · Social Indicators Research · doi:10.1007/s11205-017-1747-5 · Cited by 83
Public spaces and happiness: Evidence from a large-scale field experiment
Benita, F., Bansal, G., & Tunçer, B. (2019) · Health & Place · doi:10.1016/j.healthplace.2019.01.014 · Cited by 76
National Identity, National Pride, and Happiness: The Case of South Korea
Ha, S. E., & Jang, S. (2014) · Social Indicators Research · doi:10.1007/s11205-014-0641-7 · Cited by 76
Quantifying the intangible impact of the Olympics using subjective well-being dataPreprint
Dolan, P., Kavetsos, G., Krekel, C., Mavridis, D., Metcalfe, R., Senik, C., Szymanski, S., & Ziebarth, N. R. (2019) · Journal of Public Economics · doi:10.1016/j.jpubeco.2019.07.002 · Cited by 71
Self-citationHirschauer, N., Lehberger, M., & Mußhoff, O. (2014) · Social Indicators Research · doi:10.1007/s11205-014-0654-2 · Cited by 76
“and consumption, as measured in national accounts such as gross domestic product (GDP), is sufficient for guiding policy makers (Dolan and Metcalfe 2012; Frey and Stutzer 2010; OECD 2013a).”
Ida Kubiszewski, A., Zakariyya, N., & Costanza, R. (2018) · Ecological Economics · doi:10.1016/j.ecolecon.2018.08.017 · Cited by 69
“Ensuring consistent boundaries and standards around measuring of these variables is critical for comparison purposes (Dolan and Metcalfe 2012).”
BackgroundThe relationships between leisure and happiness-A graphic elicitation method
Liu, H., & Da, S. (2019) · Leisure Studies · doi:10.1080/02614367.2019.1575459 · Cited by 64
“The account of wellbeing can be measured empirically with its three components, including evaluative, experience and ‘eudemonia’ (Dolan & Metcalfe, 2012).”
MethodICT Exposure and the Level of Wellbeing and Progress: A Cross Country Analysis
Maiti, D., & Awasthi, A. (2019) · Social Indicators Research · doi:10.1007/s11205-019-02153-5 · Cited by 67
Life satisfaction of migrants, stayers and returnees: reaping the fruits of migration in old age?
Baykara-Krumme, H., & Platt, L. (2016) · Ageing and Society · doi:10.1017/s0144686x16001227 · Cited by 75
Goodfellow, C., Hardoon, D., Inchley, J., Leyland, A. H., Qualter, P., Simpson, S. A., & Long, E. (2022) · Journal of Adolescence · doi:10.1002/jad.12046 · Cited by 68
“PWB data has been routinely collected in the United Kingdom since 2011, but is repeated cross‐sectional in nature, rather than longitudinal (Allin & Hand 2017; Dolan & Metcalfe, 2012; Tinkler, 2015).”
MethodGlobal Perspective on Marital Satisfaction
Dobrowolska, M., Groyecka-Bernard, A., Sorokowski, P., Randall, A. K., Hilpert, P., Ahmadi, K., AlGhraibeh, A. M. A., Aryeetey, R., Bertoni, A., Bettache, K., et al. (2020) · Sustainability · doi:10.3390/su12218817 · Cited by 68
“In this tone, Dolan and Metcalfe [46] claimed that subjective well-being is a significant indicator of well-being in general.”
BackgroundSubjective Wellbeing: Why Weather Matters
Feddersen, J., Metcalfe, R., & Wooden, M. (2015) · Journal of the Royal Statistical Society Series A (Statistics in Society) · doi:10.1111/rssa.12118 · Cited by 89
“…progress (Stiglitz et al., 2009), value non-market goods (Welsch, 2006; Rehdanz and Maddison, 2008; Carroll et al., 2009; Frey et al., 2009; Luechinger, 2009; Levin-son, 2012) and assess government policy (Diener et al., 2009; Dolan et al., 2011; Boarini et al., 2012; Dolan and Metcalfe, 2012).”
BackgroundSelf-citationAyala, Y., Silla, J. M. P., Tordera, N., Lorente, L., & Yeves, J. (2016) · Journal of Happiness Studies · doi:10.1007/s10902-016-9778-1 · Cited by 63
Urban Quality of Life and Capabilities: An Experimental Study
Biagi, B., Ladu, M. G., & Meleddu, M. (2018) · Ecological Economics · doi:10.1016/j.ecolecon.2018.04.011 · Cited by 60
Ren, Z., Zhang, X., Sun, Y., Li, X., He, M., Shi, H., Zhao, H., Zha, S., Qiao, S., Li, Y., et al. (2021) · Journal of Nursing Management · doi:10.1111/jonm.13276 · Cited by 57
Tang, J., Xu, Y., Ma, W., & Gao, S. (2021) · Habitat International · doi:10.1016/j.habitatint.2021.102455 · Cited by 58
The importance of ecological quality of public green and blue spaces for subjective well-being
Knight, S. J., McClean, C. J., & White, P. C. L. (2022) · Landscape and Urban Planning · doi:10.1016/j.landurbplan.2022.104510 · Cited by 60
Carter, E., & Whitworth, A. (2016) · Social Policy and Administration · doi:10.1111/spol.12206 · Cited by 57
“Both enabling and responding to the increased policy salience of well-being, there has been considerable progress within academia in recent years both in the theorization and measurement of well-being as a multi-dimensional latent concept (Dolan et al. 2008 ; Diener 2009; Stiglitz et al. 2009 ; Dolan and Metcalfe 2012…”
BackgroundThe effect of urbanization on subjective well-being: Explaining cross-regional differences
Navarro, M., D’Agostino, A., & Neri, L. (2020) · Socio-Economic Planning Sciences · doi:10.1016/j.seps.2020.100824 · Cited by 56
Sustainable Development and Well-Being: A Philosophical Challenge
Painter‐Morland, M., Demuijnck, G., & Ornati, S. (2017) · Journal of Business Ethics · doi:10.1007/s10551-017-3658-4 · Cited by 56
“It is of outmost relevance to be able to understand the various dimensions of subjective well-being, in terms of behaviours and social norms, because ‘from the perspective of subjective wellbeing, agency, social norms, virtues and individual behaviour are only important in so far as they have the ability to change the…”
BackgroundInfluentialWang, A., Davis, O. S. P., Wootton, R. E., Mottershaw, A. L., & Haworth, C. M. A. (2017) · Scientific Reports · doi:10.1038/s41598-017-13449-2 · Cited by 58
Eluwole, K. K., Banga, C., Lasisi, T. T., Öztüren, A., & Kılıç, H. (2021) · Journal of Destination Marketing & Management · doi:10.1016/j.jdmm.2021.100674 · Cited by 60
Chen, T. (2018) · Ageing and Society · doi:10.1017/s0144686x18000041 · Cited by 54
Dolan, P., Kavetsos, G., & Vlaev, I. (2013) · Social Indicators Research · doi:10.1007/s11205-013-0543-0 · Cited by 55
Self-citationUnemployment, wellbeing and the power of the work ethic: Implications for social policy
Sage, D. J. (2018) · Critical Social Policy · doi:10.1177/0261018318780910 · Cited by 49
Subjective well‐being of mental health nurses in the United Kingdom: Results of an online survey
Oates, J., Jones, J., & Drey, N. (2016) · International Journal of Mental Health Nursing · doi:10.1111/inm.12263 · Cited by 48
Association of children’s mobility and wellbeing: A case study in Hong Kong
Leung, K. Y. K., & Loo, B. P. Y. (2017) · Travel Behaviour and Society · doi:10.1016/j.tbs.2017.07.004 · Cited by 48
Bad Air Days: The Effects of Air Quality on Different Measures of Subjective Well-Being
Dolan, P., & Laffan, K. M. (2016) · Journal of Benefit-Cost Analysis · doi:10.1017/bca.2016.7 · Cited by 46
Self-citationChanges in Subjective Well-Being Over Time: Economic and Social Resources do Matter
Moro-Egido, A. I., Navarro, M., & Domínguez, M. Á. S. (2021) · Journal of Happiness Studies · doi:10.1007/s10902-021-00473-3 · Cited by 48
“…of life, such as economic resources and social relationships (see, for instance, Ferrer-i-Carbonell & Frijters, 2004; Di Tella & MacCulloch, 2008; Dolan & Metcalfe, 2012).1 In studies on subjective well-being from a temporal perspective, set-point theory has been the most widespread approach,…”
BackgroundHappy Talk: Mode of Administration Effects on Subjective Well-Being
Dolan, P., & Kavetsos, G. (2015) · Journal of Happiness Studies · doi:10.1007/s10902-015-9642-8 · Cited by 43
“Following recommendations by Dolan and Metcalfe (2012), this survey introduces evaluative, experience and ‘eudemonic’ measures of SWB questions all of which are measured on a 0-10 scale, where 0 denotes ‘not at all’ and 10 denotes ‘completely’: i.”
BackgroundResultInfluentialSelf-citationAhmed, A., Dompreh, E. B., & Gasparatos, A. (2019) · PLoS ONE · doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0215433 · Cited by 44
Links of urban green space on environmental satisfaction: a spatial and temporarily varying approach
Li, L., Zheng, Y., & Ma, S. (2022) · Environment Development and Sustainability · doi:10.1007/s10668-022-02175-z · Cited by 44
“Traditional approaches to value the monetary benefits of UGS have paid attention to people’s preferences (Dolan & Metcalfe, 2012), such as methods of valuation based on real markets or hypothetical scenarios (Jim & Chen, 2006; Panduro & Veie, 2013).”
BackgroundThe Happiness of Single Mothers: Evidence from the General Social Survey
Ifcher, J., & Zarghamee, H. (2013) · Journal of Happiness Studies · doi:10.1007/s10902-013-9472-5 · Cited by 42
“…life evaluation (global happiness), a measure of subjective well-being distinct from emotional or hedonic well-being (experienced happiness) and eudomonic well-being (sense of purpose); for discussions of the distinction see Diener (1984), Dolan and Metcalfe (2012), and Kahneman and Deaton (2010).”
BackgroundLife satisfaction among older people in Italy in a gender approach
Meggiolaro, S., & Ongaro, F. (2014) · Ageing and Society · doi:10.1017/s0144686x14000646 · Cited by 48
Moderators of wellbeing interventions: Why do some people respond more positively than others?
Wang, A., Nelson, S. K., Layous, K., Bao, K. J., Davis, O. S. P., & Haworth, C. M. A. (2017) · PLoS ONE · doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0187601 · Cited by 52
National well-being policy and a weighted approach to human feelings
O'Donnell, G., & Oswald, A. J. (2015) · Ecological Economics · doi:10.1016/j.ecolecon.2015.09.021 · Cited by 50
“They include Blanchflower and Oswald (2011), Clark et al. (2008), Diener (2013), Di Tella and MacCulloch (2006), Dolan and Metcalfe (2012), Fleurbaey (2009), Graham (2010, 2011), Helliwell and Wang (2013), Jorm and Ryan (2014), Layard (2005), OECD (2011), Powdthavee (2010), and Stone and Mackie…”
BackgroundNavarrete-Hernández, P., & Laffan, K. M. (2023) · Scientific Reports · doi:10.1038/s41598-023-35804-2 · Cited by 46
Samuelsson, K., Barthel, S., Giusti, M., & Hartig, T. (2021) · Landscape and Urban Planning · doi:10.1016/j.landurbplan.2021.104176 · Cited by 45
“Subjective wellbeing is a multi-dimensional concept that encompasses life satisfaction, momentary experiences, and sense of purpose, but which differs from objective wellbeing (fulfilment of fixed needs) and preference satisfaction (fulfilment of wants and desires) (Dolan & Metcalfe, 2012).”
BackgroundThe National Work–Life Balance Index©: The European Case
Fernández-Crehuet, J. M., Giménez-Nadal, J. I., & Recio, L. E. R. (2015) · Social Indicators Research · doi:10.1007/s11205-015-1034-2 · Cited by 41
“…simply living conditions, and it addresses the overall well-being of individuals in society (Eurofound 2004), and it emphasises the importance and relevance of subjective indicators in complementing more objective information (Stiglitz et al. 2009; Dolan and Metcalfe 2012; Vaughan-Whitehead 2012).”
BackgroundWorlds of Welfare Capitalism and Wellbeing: A Multilevel Analysis
Deeming, C., & Hayes, D. R. (2012) · Journal of Social Policy · doi:10.1017/s0047279412000499 · Cited by 40
“Daly, M. (2011), Welfare, Cambridge: Polity.”
Artaraz, K., & Calestani, M. (2014) · Latin American Perspectives · doi:10.1177/0094582x14547501 · Cited by 43
Determinants of multidimensional mental wellbeing in the oldest old: a rapid review
Cresswell‐Smith, J., Amaddeo, F., Donisi, V., Forsman, A. K., Kalseth, J., Martín‐María, N., Miret, M., & Walhbeck, K. (2018) · Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology · doi:10.1007/s00127-018-1633-8 · Cited by 40
Catuara-Solarz, S., Skorulski, B., Estella-Aguerri, I., Avella-Garcia, C. B., Shepherd, S., Stott, E., Hemmings, N. R., de Villa, A. R., Schulze, L., & Dix, S. (2021) · JMIR mhealth and uhealth · doi:10.2196/30976 · Cited by 44
“In addition, the United Kingdom Office of National Statistics questions on well-being (ONS-4) scale was used to measure subjective well-being [24].”
Helne, T. (2021) · Sustainability Science Practice and Policy · doi:10.1080/15487733.2021.1930716 · Cited by 40
“I shall first discuss some forms of this criticism, and then show how they can be circumvented.5 While social policy has often been focused on listing items that are thought to constitute “objective” well-being, interest in subjective wellbeing has increased (Dolan and Metcalfe 2012, 409–410).”
BackgroundTokdemir, G. (2022) · Journal of Systems and Software · doi:10.1016/j.jss.2022.111286 · Cited by 41
“Mental well-being is related to satisfaction with life, positive and negative emotions, and meaning in life (Dolan and Metcalfe, 2012; Diener, 2006), and it is defined as the mental state of an individual in terms of feelings, thoughts, and ways of coping with daily life.”
BackgroundNegative vs. Positive Psychology: a Review of Science of Well-Being
Abbas, A., Ekowati, D., Suhariadi, F., & Hamid, S. A. R. (2022) · Integrative Psychological and Behavioral Science · doi:10.1007/s12124-022-09708-1 · Cited by 44
“…social, cultural, psychological, and religious capitals, trust, and behavioral, psychological, and ethical considerations (e.g., Adler & Seligman, 2016; Cullis & Lewis, 1997; Dolan et al., 2017; Dolan & Metcalfe, 2012; Helliwell & Huang, 2011; Luechinger & Raschky, 2009; Van Praag & Baarsma, 2005).”
How to Measure Social Progress?
Greve, B. (2016) · Social Policy and Administration · doi:10.1111/spol.12219 · Cited by 35
Chica‐Olmo, J., Domínguez, M. Á. S., & Murillo, F. H. S. (2019) · Cities · doi:10.1016/j.cities.2019.102560 · Cited by 37
“…of human well-being, such as the influence of social relationships (family and friends), comparisons with others, self-determination, and the absence of insecurity (Bárcena-Martín et al. 2017; Bartolini and Sarracino 2014; Dolan and Metcalfe 2012; Frey and Stutzer 2002; Stutzer and Frey 2010).”
Using Discrete Choice Experiments with Duration to Model EQ-5D-5L Health State Preferences
Mulhern, B. J., Bansback, N. J., Hole, A. R., & Tsuchiya, A. (2016) · Medical Decision Making · doi:10.1177/0272989x16670616 · Cited by 34
Predictors of life satisfaction in a large representative sample from Italy
Capone, V., Joshanloo, M., & Scheifinger, H. (2019) · Current Psychology · doi:10.1007/s12144-019-00305-x · Cited by 33
Gender, Age and Subjective Well-Being: Towards Personalized Persuasive Health Interventions
Abdullahi, A. M., Orji, R., & Kawu, A. A. (2019) · Information · doi:10.3390/info10100301 · Cited by 36
Addae, E. A., & Kühner, S. (2022) · Journal of Social Policy · doi:10.1017/s0047279421000982 · Cited by 37
Sage, D. J. (2014) · Journal of Happiness Studies · doi:10.1007/s10902-014-9549-9 · Cited by 33
Long-term care (LTC) policy in Thailand on the homebound and bedridden elderly happiness
Suriyanrattakorn, S., & Chang, C. (2021) · Health Policy OPEN · doi:10.1016/j.hpopen.2020.100026 · Cited by 32
“Also, [6] suggests that subjective wellbeing should be one of the primary outcomes of appraising healthcare policy.”
BackgroundNavarrete-Hernández, P., Kiarostami, N., Yang, D., & Ozcakir, A. (2024) · Landscape and Urban Planning · doi:10.1016/j.landurbplan.2024.105130 · Cited by 33
Leisure in a post-work society
Snape, R., Haworth, J., McHugh, S., & Carson, J. (2017) · World Leisure Journal · doi:10.1080/16078055.2017.1345483 · Cited by 32
“The Office of National Statistics (ONS) in its Approach to measuring well-being is developing new measures of national well-being (Dolan, Layard, & Metcalfe, 2011; Dolan & Metcalfe, 2012).”
BackgroundOman, S., & Taylor, M. (2018) · Journal of Cultural Economy · doi:10.1080/17530350.2018.1435422 · Cited by 31
Holt, N. J. (2020) · Perspectives in Public Health · doi:10.1177/1757913920913060 · Cited by 33
Fernández‐Río, J., Estrada, J. A. C., Mendez‐Giménez, A., & Carriedo, A. (2021) · International Journal of Sport and Exercise Psychology · doi:10.1080/1612197x.2021.1877328 · Cited by 32
“Mental well-being is considered a multifaceted and multidirectional construct with multidimensional indicators grouped around three domains: evaluative (i.e., life satisfaction), hedonic (i.e., affect), and eudaimonic (i.e., meaning in life) (Dolan & Metcalfe, 2012).”
BackgroundMore than a good book: contingent valuation of public library services in England
Fujiwara, D., Lawton, R. N., & Mourato, S. (2019) · Journal of Cultural Economics · doi:10.1007/s10824-019-09369-w · Cited by 30
Tomaselli, V., Fordellone, M., & Vichi, M. (2020) · Social Indicators Research · doi:10.1007/s11205-020-02454-0 · Cited by 29
“…of National Statistics in the United Kingdom has developed new and more comprehensive well-being indicators but with limited geographical scope (Dolan and Metcalfe 2012; Everett 2015), whereas a much larger initiative was undertaken with the Better Life Index (Durand 2015), which provides…”
Gallagher, S. M., Daynes‐Kearney, R., Grangel, A. B., Dunne, N., & McMahon, J. (2022) · International Journal of Adolescence and Youth · doi:10.1080/02673843.2021.2025115 · Cited by 35
“Its importance as a measure of subjective well-being for use in the general population is evident by the use of the scale by UK and WHO policy makers (Dolan & Metcalfe, 2012).”
Method
Metadata
- Authors
- DOLAN, P., & METCALFE, R.
- Affiliations
- London School of Economics and Political Science (GB)
- University of Oxford (GB)
- Venue
- Journal of Social Policy
- Publisher
- Cambridge University Press (CUP)
- Published
- 2012-01-12
- Volume
- 41
- Issue
- 2
- Pages
- 409-427
- ISSN
- 0047-2794 (ISSN-L)
- 1469-7823
- OpenAlex
- W2146619620
- Semantic Scholar
- 4c6230065b5e9a5dd3be6b341c78161441bc9682
- Cited by
- 404
- References
- 133
- Citations by year
- 2026: 21 · 2025: 27 · 2024: 30 · 2023: 32 · 2022: 47 · 2021: 54 · 2020: 27 · 2019: 31 · 2018: 24 · 2017: 28 · 2016: 27 · 2015: 19 · 2014: 18 · 2013: 17 · 2012: 2
- FWCI
- 27.00
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- green
- orcid.org
- Locations
- Journal of Social Policy (publishedVersion)
- London School of Economics and Political Science Research Online (London School of Economics and Political Science) (submittedVersion)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Social Psychology › Psychological Well-being and Life Satisfaction
- Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Quality of Life Measurement
- Social Sciences › Decision Sciences › Management Science and Operations Research › Psychometric Methodologies and Testing
- Keywords
- subjective well-being, well-being measurement, life satisfaction, momentary mood, eudaimonia, public policy monitoring, resource allocation, cost-benefit analysis, adaptation, questionnaire development
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