Background to the Local Wellbeing Project

Although Britain has become over three times richer in real terms since the beginning of the 20th Century, research suggests that we are no happier now than we were before, with some studies suggesting we might have actually become less happy. The emerging field of happiness studies aims to involve psychologists, economists and policy-makers in defining what happiness is and determining how best society might create the conditions in which it can flourish.

Since classical times many thinkers, including Aristotle, have considered that happiness or more broadly speaking, wellbeing, is an appropriate goal for society. Utilitarian philosophers, in 18th century England identified pain and pleasure as being the only intrinsic values in the world. Jeremy Bentham argued that the moral worth of an action (its utility) was determined by its outcome and that actions which brought the maximum happiness to the maximum number of people were therefore of greatest value. The promotion of wellbeing is also notable for its inclusion in the American Declaration of Independence, which lists the unalienable rights of all men as being life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.

More recently a growing body of work has included contributions from many different academic fields, including economics, psychology and political science. Richard Easterlin, a wellbeing economist, identified the fact that happiness in societies does not necessary rise with increased economic growth once certain basic needs have been met. This has since become known as the ‘Easterlin paradox’. Andrew Oswald and Alan Kruger have also made significant contributions to this field. Political scientists such as Bruno Frey have challenged conventional economic theory for placing too great an emphasis on extrinsic motivation rather than intrinsic motivations for individual’s behaviour, (intrinsic motivations being those that are rewarding in themselves because they fulfill people’s psychological needs, and extrinsic being those that are not inherently fulfilling but motivate people to pursue ends that people believe will satisfy their needs, for example financial success.) Michael Argyle’s work in the 1980s outlined some of the factors which promote happiness, such as relationships, music and eating. More recently, work conducted by members of the positive psychology movement like Martin Seligman and Ed Deiner, has lead to a better understanding of what underlies happiness, including time spent with friends and family, meaningful employment and emotional resilience. Csikszentmihalyi, a psychology professor wrote extensively on his theories of ‘flow’ and how to optimise enjoyment from undertaking particular tasks.

In classic economic thought wealth has often been used as a proxy for measuring wellbeing, and indicators like Gross National Product (GNP) have been considered as a marker of policy success. However, the increasing influence of the concept of wellbeing has led to new indicators being developed, such as Genuine Progress Indicators, which attempt to capture both the benefits and the costs of increasing economic activity. Nef recently developed the Happy Planet Index which incorporates wellbeing indicators with ecological footprints. Both Thailand and Bhutan already measure national happiness, indeed the King of Bhutan developed the Gross National Happiness Index precisely for this. Australia, Canada, China and the UK are developing similar indices.

The idea of governments promoting wellbeing has steadily moved from the margins to the mainstream, as could be seen by its inclusion in an OECD conference in April 2007. In the UK, the LSE’s Lord Richard Layard has been a major influence in creating a wellbeing agenda within mainstream politics. However it is only now that serious consideration is being given to how public policy could be structured to improve wellbeing for various groups in society, and how these interventions should be introduced.

The Local Wellbeing Project is one of the first policy trials specifically targeted at improving wellbeing at a local level. Local authorities in the UK have great influence over education, green spaces, transport and healthcare provision in the UK and are therefore this project aims to utilise their ability to implement initiatives that can promote wellbeing in their neighbourhoods.

When this project was initially developed a review of literature sources was undertaken, which can be downloaded here. 

Suggested further reading:

Gilbert, D. (2007) Stumbling on Happiness, London: HarperPerenial

Seligman, M. (2006) Learned Optimism: How to Change Your Mind and Your Life, Vintage Books USA

Layard, R. (2006) Happiness: Lessons from a New Science, London: Penguin

De Botton, A (2004) Status Anxiety, London: Penguin

Bruni, L. (2004), A History of Happiness in Economics, London and New York, Routledge

Michalos, A. (2003) Essays on the quality of life, Dordrecht, the Netherlands: Kluwer Academic Publishers

Seligman, M. (2003) Authentic Happiness: Using the New Positive Psychology to Realise Your Potential for Lasting Fulfilment, Nicholas Brealey Publishing Ltd.

Seligman, M. (2002) Authentic Happiness New York: Free Press

H H The Dalai Lama (1999) The Art of Happiness: A handbook for living, Hodder & Stoughton Ltd.

Inglehart, R. (1999), Trust, Well-being and Democracy, in Warren, M.E. Democracy and Trust, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. pp. 88-120

Csikszentmihalyi, M. (1990) Flow: the psychology of optimum experience, New York: Harper and Row

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