tag:theconversation.com,2011:/us/topics/living-standards-framework-70277/articlesLiving Standards Framework – The Conversation2023-02-22T19:04:45Ztag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1986622023-02-22T19:04:45Z2023-02-22T19:04:45ZThe wellbeing ‘pandemic’ – how the global drive for wellness might be making us sick<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/509323/original/file-20230210-16-8fvnpz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C8179%2C5457&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Getty Images</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Are we in the midst of a wellbeing pandemic? The question may seem curious, even contradictory. But look around, the concept is everywhere and spreading: in the media, in government institutions and transnational organisations, in schools, in workplaces and in the marketplace. </p>
<p>To be clear, it’s not just wellbeing’s infectiousness in public discourse that makes it pandemic-like. It’s also the genuine malaise that can be caused by the term’s misuse and exploitation.</p>
<p>Do you sense, for example, that your wellbeing is increasingly being scrutinised by peers, managers and insurance companies? Are you noticing an increasing number of advertisements offering products and services that promise enhanced wellbeing through consumption? If so, you’re not alone. </p>
<p>But we also need to ask whether this obsession with wellbeing is having the opposite to the desired effect. To understand why, it’s important to look at the origins, politics and complexities of wellbeing, including its strategic deployment in the process of what we call “<a href="https://otagouni-my.sharepoint.com/personal/jacst99p_registry_otago_ac_nz/Documents/Documents/SJ-Wellness/SJ-Conversation-Wellbeing/Jackson-Sam-Dawson-Porter-Frontiers-Sociology-Wellbeing-2022.pdf">wellbeing washing</a>”.</p>
<h2>The halo effect</h2>
<p>While concerns about wellbeing can be traced to antiquity, the term has emerged as a central feature of contemporary social life. One explanation is that it is often conflated with concepts as diverse as happiness, quality of life, life satisfaction, human flourishing, mindfulness and “wellness”. </p>
<p>Wellbeing is flexible, in the sense that it can be easily inserted into a diverse range of contexts. But it’s also surrounded by a kind of halo, automatically bestowed with a positive meaning, similar to concepts such as motherhood, democracy, freedom and liberty. </p>
<p>To contest the value and importance of such things is to risk being labelled a troublemaker, a non-believer, unpatriotic or worse.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/wellbeing-needs-a-rethink-and-a-global-outlook-is-the-way-to-start-147776">Wellbeing needs a rethink – and a global outlook is the way to start</a>
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<p>These days, there are two main concepts of wellbeing. The first – subjective wellbeing – emphasises a <a href="https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fsoc.2022.950557/full#B21">holistic measure</a> of an individual’s mental, physical and spiritual health. This perspective is perhaps best reflected in the World Health Organization’s <a href="https://www.corc.uk.net/outcome-experience-measures/the-world-health-organisation-five-well-being-index-who-5/">WHO-5 Index</a>, designed in 1998 to measure people’s subjective wellbeing according to five states: cheerfulness, calmness, vigour, restfulness and fulfilment.</p>
<p>Translated into more than 30 languages, the overall influence of the WHO-5 Index should not be underestimated; both governments and corporations have embraced it and implemented policy based on it. </p>
<p>But the validity of the index, and others like it, has been questioned. They’re prone to oversimplification and a tendency to marginalise alternative perspectives, including Indigenous approaches to physical and mental health.</p>
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<h2>Individual responsibility</h2>
<p>The second perspective – objective wellbeing – was a response to rising social inequality. It focuses on offering an <a href="https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fsoc.2022.950557/full#B60">alternative to GDP</a> as a measure of overall national prosperity. </p>
<p>One example of this is New Zealand’s <a href="https://www.treasury.govt.nz/information-and-services/nz-economy/higher-living-standards/our-living-standards-framework">Living Standards Framework</a>, which is guided by four operating principles: distribution, resilience, productivity and sustainability. These new and purportedly more progressive measures of national economic and social outcomes signal societal change, optimism and hope.</p>
<p>The trouble with such initiatives, however, is that they remain rooted within a particular neoliberal paradigm in which individual behaviour is the linchpin for change, rather than the wider political and economic structures around us. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/beyond-gdp-changing-how-we-measure-progress-is-key-to-tackling-a-world-in-crisis-three-leading-experts-186488">Beyond GDP: changing how we measure progress is key to tackling a world in crisis – three leading experts</a>
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<p>Arguably, this translates into more monitoring and “disciplining” of personal actions and activities. Intentionally or not, many organisations interpret and use
wellbeing principles and policies to reinforce existing structures and hierarchies. </p>
<p>Consider how the wellbeing agenda is playing out in your organisation or workplace, for example. Chances are you have seen the growth of new departments, work units or committees, policies and programs, wellness workshops – all supposedly linked to health and wellbeing. </p>
<p>You may even have noticed the creation of new roles: wellbeing coaches, teams or “champions”. If not, then “lurk with intent” and be on the lookout for the emergence of yoga and meditation offerings, nature walks and a range of other “funtivities” to support your wellbeing. </p>
<h2>Wellbeing washing</h2>
<p>The danger is that such initiatives now constitute another semi-obligatory work task, to the extent that non-participation could lead to stigmatisation. This only adds to stress and, indeed, unwellness. </p>
<p>Deployed poorly or cynically, such schemes represent aspects of “wellbeing washing”. It’s a strategic attempt to use language, imagery, policies and practices as part of an organisation’s “culture” to connote something positive and virtuous. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/pilates-fruit-and-amazons-zen-booths-why-workplace-wellbeing-efforts-can-fall-short-162143">Pilates, fruit and Amazon's zen booths: why workplace wellbeing efforts can fall short</a>
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<p>In reality, it could also be designed to enhance productivity and reduce costs, minimise and manage reputational risk, and promote <a href="https://otagouni-my.sharepoint.com/personal/jacst99p_registry_otago_ac_nz/Documents/Documents/SJ-Wellness/SJ-Conversation-Wellbeing/Jackson-Sam-Dawson-Porter-Frontiers-Sociology-Wellbeing-2022.pdf">conformity, control and surveillance</a>. </p>
<p>Ultimately, we argue that wellbeing now constitutes a “field of power”; not a neutral territory, but a place where parties advance their own interests, often at the expense of others. As such, it’s essential that scholars, policymakers and citizens explore, as one author <a href="https://www.google.com.au/books/edition/Measuring_Wellbeing/lWBXjk1nocIC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=%E2%80%9Cwhat+and+whose+values+are+represented,+which+accounts+dominate,+what+is+their+impact+and+on+whom%E2%80%9D&pg=PA4&printsec=frontcover">put it</a>, “what and whose values are represented, which accounts dominate, what is their impact and on whom”. </p>
<p>Because if wellbeing is becoming a pandemic, we may well need the “vaccine” of critical reflection.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/198662/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>The concept of ‘wellbeing’ has been embraced everywhere. But there’s a downside to the obsession with ‘wellness’ that we need to examine.Steven James Jackson, Professor and Co-Director, New Zealand Centre for Sport Policy & Politics, University of OtagoMarcelle Dawson, Associate Professor of Sociology, Gender Studies and Criminology, University of OtagoMichael Sam, Associate Professor of Physical Education, Sport and Exercise Sciences, University of OtagoLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1361752020-04-23T19:59:57Z2020-04-23T19:59:57ZCaring for community to beat coronavirus echoes Indigenous ideas of a good life<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/328234/original/file-20200416-140719-1likaqc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C6798%2C2526&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Suz Te Tai (Ngati Manu)</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>The COVID-19 pandemic has reminded us our own well-being is intimately connected to <a href="https://www.stuff.co.nz/dominion-post/wellington-top-stories/120791996/coronavirus-thank-you-to-our-essential-workers">other people</a> and our natural environment. </p>
<p>For many people, living in a small lockdown bubble for weeks has put a heavy strain on <a href="https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/new-zealand/2020/04/coronavirus-covid-19-lockdown-triggers-huge-increase-in-mental-health-issues.html">their mental health and relationships</a>. For others, it’s been a chance to <a href="https://www.rnz.co.nz/national/programmes/morningreport/audio/2018743585/coronavirus-multigenerational-bubbles-enjoying-lockdown">strengthen multi-generational ties</a>.</p>
<p>Māori and Indigenous peoples elsewhere have long called for social and political transformation, including a broader approach to health that values social and cultural well-being of communities, rather than only the physical well-being of an individual. </p>
<p>When our COVID-19 lockdowns end, we can’t afford to stop <a href="https://thespinoff.co.nz/parenting/moe/23-04-2020/together-apart-keeping-kids-connected-under-rahui/">caring</a> about collective well-being. New Zealand is well positioned to show the world how this could be done, including through the New Zealand Treasury’s <a href="https://treasury.govt.nz/information-and-services/nz-economy/higher-living-standards/our-living-standards-framework">Living Standards Framework</a> – but only if we listen more to Māori and other diverse voices.</p>
<h2>Relationships are at the heart of living well</h2>
<p>For many Indigenous peoples, good relationships are fundamental to a well-functioning society. In New Zealand, these connections are captured in Māori narratives charting our relationships with people and other parts of the natural world. The relationships are woven in a complex genealogical network. </p>
<p>Indigenous well-being begins where our relationships with each other and with the natural environment meet. These intersections generate responsibilities for remembering what has come before us, realising well-being today, and creating sustainable conditions for future generations.</p>
<p>Practices that enhance the importance of these relationships are central to Māori notions of “<a href="https://osf.io/preprints/socarxiv/tz746/">manaakitanga</a>” (caring and supporting others) and “<a href="http://www.jps.auckland.ac.nz/document//Volume_109_2000/Volume_109%2C_No._4/Kaitiakitanga%3A_A_Maori_anthropological_perspective_of_the_Maori_socio-environmental_ethic_of_resource_management%2C_by_Merata_Kawharu%2C_p_349-370/p1">kaitiakitanga</a>” (caretaking of the environment and people). We find these <a href="https://www.teaomaori.news/iwi-leaders-partner-food-service-provide-kai-vulnerable-whanau-nationwide">commitments and practices</a> in <a href="https://maorimaps.com/">communities</a> and tribal groups across New Zealand.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/community-wellbeing-best-measured-from-the-ground-up-a-yawuru-example-64162">Community wellbeing best measured from the ground up: a Yawuru example</a>
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<p>Similarly, the Yawuru people of Broome in north-western Australia contend that good connections with other people and the natural environment play a central role in “<a href="http://www.yawuru.org.au/community/mabu-liyan-framework/?doing_wp_cron=1586926205.3619189262390136718750">mabu liyan</a>”, living a good life.</p>
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<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/329915/original/file-20200423-47815-1payatd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/329915/original/file-20200423-47815-1payatd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/329915/original/file-20200423-47815-1payatd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/329915/original/file-20200423-47815-1payatd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/329915/original/file-20200423-47815-1payatd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/329915/original/file-20200423-47815-1payatd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/329915/original/file-20200423-47815-1payatd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/329915/original/file-20200423-47815-1payatd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">The Yawuru conducted a well-being survey that highlighted the crucial role of connectedness.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">John Puertollano, used with permission</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
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<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/329917/original/file-20200423-47784-1lgp2qn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/329917/original/file-20200423-47784-1lgp2qn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/329917/original/file-20200423-47784-1lgp2qn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=542&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/329917/original/file-20200423-47784-1lgp2qn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=542&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/329917/original/file-20200423-47784-1lgp2qn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=542&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/329917/original/file-20200423-47784-1lgp2qn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=681&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/329917/original/file-20200423-47784-1lgp2qn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=681&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/329917/original/file-20200423-47784-1lgp2qn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=681&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">Ojibwe women wearing their healing (jingle) dresses: Robyn Copenance, Sharona Seymour, Rayanna Seymour.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
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<p>In North America, relationships as well as the need for cooperation and justice between all beings ground the Anishinaabe good-living concept of “<a href="https://www.berghahnjournals.com/view/journals/environment-and-society/9/1/ares090102.xml">minobimaatisiiwin</a>”. </p>
<p>In South America, reciprocity in human interactions with nature is fundamental to the Quechua people’s good living notion of “<a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/21683565.2018.1468380">allin kawsay</a>”. </p>
<p>For Indigenous peoples everywhere, navigating our complex responsibilities for people and other living things in ways that enrich our existence is fundamental.</p>
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<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/329951/original/file-20200423-47799-849iui.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/329951/original/file-20200423-47799-849iui.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/329951/original/file-20200423-47799-849iui.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=403&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/329951/original/file-20200423-47799-849iui.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=403&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/329951/original/file-20200423-47799-849iui.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=403&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/329951/original/file-20200423-47799-849iui.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=506&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/329951/original/file-20200423-47799-849iui.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=506&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/329951/original/file-20200423-47799-849iui.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=506&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">Mariaelena Huambachano and Quechua ladies from Choquecancha, discussing the importance of seeds for well-being.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Mariaelena Huambachano</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
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<h2>Living standards and well-being</h2>
<p>The New Zealand Treasury’s <a href="https://treasury.govt.nz/information-and-services/nz-economy/higher-living-standards/our-living-standards-framework">Living Standards Framework</a>, launched in late 2018, recognises that living well consists of many dimensions, including health, housing and social connections. It is based on 12 well-being indicators. </p>
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<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/272140/original/file-20190502-117570-m26iqf.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/272140/original/file-20190502-117570-m26iqf.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=468&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/272140/original/file-20190502-117570-m26iqf.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=468&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/272140/original/file-20190502-117570-m26iqf.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=468&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/272140/original/file-20190502-117570-m26iqf.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=588&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/272140/original/file-20190502-117570-m26iqf.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=588&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/272140/original/file-20190502-117570-m26iqf.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=588&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock/The Conversation</span></span>
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<p>Significantly, the framework has <a href="https://ojs.victoria.ac.nz/pq/article/view/5294/4649">some foundation</a> in what is known as the <a href="https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/capability-approach/">capability approach</a>, which argues the focus of well-being should be on what people are capable of doing and what they value.</p>
<p>The capability approach has been pivotal in moving discussions away from measures <a href="https://theconversation.com/new-zealands-well-being-approach-to-budget-is-not-new-but-could-shift-major-issues-116296">based purely on income</a> to a broader scope of concern: the ability to live well by relating to others and the natural environment, or by participating politically. </p>
<p>Indigenous peoples promote the centrality of collective well-being. They emphasise the importance of sustaining relationships over generations. Examples grounded in such thinking include the <a href="https://www.tpk.govt.nz/en/a-matou-mohiotanga/corporate-documents/tpk-annualreport-2007/online/4">Māori Potential Approach</a>, which focuses on Māori strength and success, <a href="https://www.tpk.govt.nz/en/whakamahia/whanau-ora">Whānau Ora</a> and many earlier innovations in Māori health policy. This Indigenous work is more important than ever <a href="https://www.tepunahamatatini.ac.nz/2020/04/17/estimated-inequities-in-covid-19-infection-fatality-rates-by-ethnicity-for-aotearoa-new-zealand/">for shaping policy to tackle inequities</a>.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/new-zealands-well-being-approach-to-budget-is-not-new-but-could-shift-major-issues-116296">New Zealand's well-being approach to budget is not new, but could shift major issues</a>
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<h2>Creating a fairer future for all</h2>
<p>When talking about New Zealand’s response to COVID-19, many people have been invoking the well-known Māori phrase <a href="https://twitter.com/WgtnCC/status/1250680323869863937">He waka eke noa</a> (we are all in this together).</p>
<p>But our social and political arrangements are not really equitable – and that can cost lives when it comes to a crisis like COVID-19.</p>
<p>Recent <a href="https://www.tepunahamatatini.ac.nz/2020/04/17/estimated-inequities-in-covid-19-infection-fatality-rates-by-ethnicity-for-aotearoa-new-zealand/">modelling</a> shows the COVID-19 infection fatality rate varies by ethnicity. In New Zealand, it is around 50% higher for Māori (if age is the main factor) and more than 2.5 times that of New Zealanders of European descent if underlying health conditions are taken into account. </p>
<p>In the face of so many challenges – COVID-19, climate change, poverty – we have significant opportunities. One is to learn from the current experience, which has shown everyone the importance of thinking beyond individual well-being, to develop a well-being framework that better reflects diversity. </p>
<p>At least in its current form, New Zealand’s Living Standards Framework is missing diverse voices, especially of our most vulnerable communities such as children, older people, Māori and Pasifika communities. </p>
<p>Around the world, work is underway on how to develop well-being indicators for <a href="https://www.palgrave.com/gp/book/9780230284814">children</a>, <a href="https://www.birmingham.ac.uk/research/activity/mds/projects/HaPS/HE/ICECAP/ICECAP-O/index.aspx">older people</a>, <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1875067211000320">people with disabilities</a>, and <a href="http://www.yawuru.org.au/community/mabu-liyan-framework/?doing_wp_cron=1586926628.5647659301757812500000">Indigenous communities</a>. </p>
<p>So too are well-being initiatives undertaken by local Māori communities. The tribal census undertaken by <a href="https://ngatiwhatuaorakei.com/">Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei</a> is an example of communities committed to the aspirations of their people. To do this, we need to rethink long-standing assumptions about what well-being is and how it is measured. </p>
<p>Beyond this current crisis, we need to apply the same collective approach – of <a href="https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/411097/covid-19-how-to-protect-yourself-and-others">protecting each other</a> to protect ourselves – to the other social and political challenges we face. By doing that, we could create a better future for all of us.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/136175/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Krushil Watene receives funding from The Royal Society of NZ, and the Ministry of Business Innovation and Employment. She is affiliated with Ngāti Manu, Te Hikutu, Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei, Tonga </span></em></p>When our COVID-19 lockdowns end, we can’t afford to stop caring about collective well-being. NZ is well positioned to show the world how it’s done – if we listen to Māori and other diverse voices.Krushil Watene, Associate Professor of Philosophy, Massey UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1181692019-06-03T20:07:12Z2019-06-03T20:07:12ZThe search for an alternative to GDP to measure a nation’s progress – the New Zealand experience<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/277512/original/file-20190602-69055-3fsh1o.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=82%2C706%2C4492%2C2311&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">New Zealand's well-being budget was based on a set of measures that include cultural identity, environment, income and consumption, and social connections. </span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">from www.shutterstock.com</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/">CC BY-ND</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>There is consensus among New Zealand policymakers and researchers that GDP is not a good measure of a nation’s well-being. But the debate about what metric should replace GDP is ongoing.</p>
<p>Last week’s <a href="https://budget.govt.nz/index.htm">well-being budget</a> was based on the Livings Standards Framework (<a href="https://treasury.govt.nz/information-and-services/nz-economy/living-standards/our-living-standards-framework">LSF</a>), a set of well-being measures that include cultural identity, environment, income and consumption, and social connections. But these provide no overall index of the nation’s performance. </p>
<p>Our research uses the Genuine Progress Indicator (<a href="https://www.investopedia.com/terms/g/gpi.asp">GPI</a>). <a href="http://www.massey.ac.nz/shadomx/apps/fms/fmsdownload.cfm?file_uuid=8581767A-167D-4E43-A520-3862512B319D">It shows</a> that by that measure, New Zealand may be only <a href="http://www.massey.ac.nz/massey/about-massey/news/article.cfm?mnarticle_uuid=B7BC6F27-DE80-42CA-8E23-2171CB31BF62">half as well off</a>, compared to conventional measures such as GDP.</p>
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<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/new-zealands-well-being-approach-to-budget-is-not-new-but-could-shift-major-issues-116296">New Zealand's well-being approach to budget is not new, but could shift major issues</a>
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</em>
</p>
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<h2>Accounting for costs and benefits of economic activity</h2>
<p>Globally, the GPI is the most widely used <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0921800913001584">method to replace GDP</a>. It is essentially a macro-scale analysis of the costs and benefits of activities associated with economic activity. It includes personal consumption of goods and services as one of the largest benefits, but it balances this with costs, which may include social factors such as income inequality and environmental factors such as water pollution and the emission of greenhouse gases. </p>
<p>We show that overall, on a per capita basis, New Zealand’s GDP has increased by 91% since 1970. But the GPI gives a more accurate measure of the nation’s well-being, an increase of only 53%. </p>
<iframe title="Comparison between GDP and GPI" aria-label="Interactive line chart" src="https://datawrapper.dwcdn.net/GkrDv/1/" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" style="border: none;" width="100%" height="400"></iframe>
<p>Personal consumption is the highest value in both GPI and the GDP during the 1990s. It grew strongly with an improving economy, but there is a widening gap between GDP and GPI because of the increasing cost of environmental problems and other externalities, such as the high cost of increasing commuting time. </p>
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<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/its-time-to-vote-for-happiness-and-well-being-not-mere-economic-growth-heres-why-116061">It's time to vote for happiness and well-being, not mere economic growth. Here's why:</a>
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<h2>Sustainability as the beacon</h2>
<p>The struggle to find something better than GDP has a long history in New Zealand. The first attempts to find a GDP replacement were heavily influenced by the idea of sustainable development as an overarching concept of societal progress. In 2002, the <a href="https://www.mfe.govt.nz/">Ministry for the Environment</a> commissioned a <a href="http://www.inderscience.com/offer.php?id=5078">review of headline indicators</a> for tracking progress towards sustainability. This identified seven factors that were considered critical for successful indicators of progress. Of the 33 indicators reviewed, two were eventually implemented: the <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/320935388_Ecological_Footprints_of_New_Zealand_and_its_Regions_2003-04">ecological footprint</a> and the genuine progress indicator.</p>
<p>In 2008, towards the end of the Labour government term, <a href="https://www.stats.govt.nz/">Stats NZ</a> developed a conceptual framework for measuring progress towards a “<a href="http://archive.stats.govt.nz/browse_for_stats/snapshots-of-nz/Measuring-NZ-progress-sustainable-dev-%20approach/sustainable-development/innovation.aspx#">sustainable development approach</a>”. This substantive work did not come up with a replacement for GDP, but instead listed trends under 15 topic areas, grouped under the themes of environmental responsibility, economic efficiency and social cohesion. From an analytical standpoint, it was hard to see how this laundry list of indicators explicitly linked to the concept of sustainable development, which this tool set was purportedly measuring.</p>
<p>With the National Party coming to power in 2009, sustainability literally became a banned concept. All the work on sustainability was halted and, in many cases, annihilated. The Ministry for the Environment removed commissioned reports on <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/320935388_Ecological_Footprints_of_New_Zealand_and_its_Regions_2003-04">ecological footprints</a> from its website. </p>
<h2>Living standards research</h2>
<p>From 2011, Treasury began developing the Livings Standards Framework (<a href="https://treasury.govt.nz/information-and-services/nz-economy/living-standards/our-living-standards-framework">LSF</a>) as an alternative to GDP. Many took notice as Treasury, one of the last true believers in GDP, was questioning its usefulness as the indicator of national progress. The <a href="https://treasury.govt.nz/information-and-services/nz-economy/living-standards/our-living-standards-framework">framework</a> is based on the idea that four capitals – human, financial, social and natural – provide the basis for “intergenerational well-being”. It includes 12 measures of well-being.</p>
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<p>The theoretical underpinnings of this framework are diverse, drawing on concepts of sustainability as well as a capabilities framework, as outlined in economist <a href="https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/economic-sciences/1998/sen/biographical/">Amartya Sen</a>’s 1985 book <a href="https://global.oup.com/academic/product/commodities-and-capabilities-9780195650389?cc=nz&lang=en&">Commodities and Capabilities</a>. Treasury released the well-being indicators last year. </p>
<p>Unfortunately, when you drill down into the detail of these indicators, you realise that, in many cases, they are very subjective and dependent on how survey questions are framed. For example, there are subjective questions like “the perceived state of New Zealand’s environment on a 1 to 5 scale”. In my view, that could be much better answered if hard environmental data, like water quality indicators, were used. </p>
<p>The living standards indicators also provide no guidance on whether the country is worse off or better off in an overall sense. The data is deliberately disaggregated and there is no attempt to come up with an overall index of the nation’s performance. </p>
<h2>Progress indicators for the regions</h2>
<p>From 2007 onwards, there were a number of useful attempts by central and local government to develop workable progress indicator systems. The Waikato Regional Council, developed a <a href="https://www.waikatoregion.govt.nz/community/waikato-progress-indicators-tupuranga-waikato/">composite index for their region</a>, covering economic, social and environmental aspects of progress. The Wellington Regional Council’s <a href="http://www.gpiwellingtonregion.govt.nz/assets/WRGPI2001-2013.p%200:%20%208-144">index</a> was derived by adding up 85 equally weighted indicators covering economic, environmental, social and cultural well-being. </p>
<p>The struggle to find a replacement for GDP has not led to any firm conclusions, and one can’t ignore the role of politics at both a government and inter-departmental level. </p>
<p>Governments of various persuasions have attempted to impose their own view of what a GDP replacement would look like. Until this situation stabilises, and there is an enduring and robust replacement that is accepted by all, then by default GDP will continue to be the pre-eminent indicator of the nation’s progress.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/118169/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Foundation of Research Science and Technology </span></em></p>New analysis shows that if New Zealand replaced GDP with the Genuine Progress Indicator, which accounts for social and environmental costs, it would be only half as well off.Murray Graham Patterson, Professor in Ecological Economics, Massey UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1162962019-05-05T20:09:07Z2019-05-05T20:09:07ZNew Zealand’s well-being approach to budget is not new, but could shift major issues<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/272413/original/file-20190503-103049-1eabrvd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=41%2C83%2C2282%2C1359&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Finance minister Grant Robertson will announce New Zealand's first budget that uses a well-being measures.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">from www.shutterstock.com</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/">CC BY-ND</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>At the end of this month, New Zealand will release its first “<a href="https://www.beehive.govt.nz/release/budget-2019-date-announced">Well-being Budget</a>”. It builds on treasury’s Living Standards Framework (<a href="https://treasury.govt.nz/information-and-services/nz-economy/living-standards/our-living-standards-framework">LSF</a>), published last December, which introduced a suite of well-being measures, including cultural identity, environment, housing, income and consumption, and social connections. </p>
<p>To help interpret what this might mean for policy, I look at how well-being has been used as a guide for policy elsewhere. </p>
<p>Let’s first look at some prime ministerial words:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Wealth is about so much more than […] dollars can ever measure. It’s time we admitted that there’s more to life than money, and it’s time we focused not just on GDP, but on GWB - general well-being.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>And some words from treasury:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>The ultimate value of the well-being framework is that it improves the quality of Treasury’s policy advice to government, through helping to identify the important trade-offs for well-being, and providing a consistent basis for understanding their impact.</p>
</blockquote>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/its-time-to-vote-for-happiness-and-well-being-not-mere-economic-growth-heres-why-116061">It's time to vote for happiness and well-being, not mere economic growth. Here's why:</a>
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<p>The eagle-eyed will have noticed some words left out of the first quotation. They are “pounds, or euros or”. The quotation is from <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2006/may/22/conservatives.davidcameron">UK prime minister David Cameron</a>, in 2006. The second is from the <a href="https://treasury.gov.au/publication/economic-roundup-winter-2004/policy-advice-and-treasurys-wellbeing-framework#P37_9328">Australian Treasury in 2004</a>, prepared during the Howard government. Its framework built on an Australian Bureau of Statistics (<a href="http://www.abs.gov.au/">ABS</a>) <a href="http://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/abs@.nsf/Latestproducts/A6095FF9160B8923CA2571B70006D348?opendocument">publication</a> in 2001. </p>
<p>In introducing the LSF, the New Zealand Treasury stated: </p>
<blockquote>
<p>There is more to well-being than just a healthy economy. That’s why the Treasury has developed its Living Standards Framework (LSF) – it helps us advise governments about how the policy trade-offs they make are likely to affect everyone’s living standards. </p>
</blockquote>
<p>This is an amalgam of the Cameron speech and the Australian Treasury approach of the mid-2000s. Is there anything new in the New Zealand government’s approach that conservative governments in the UK and Australia had not already considered over a decade ago?</p>
<h2>International well-being initiatives</h2>
<p>There was another well-being initiative in France, based on the highly publicised Stiglitz-Sen-Fitoussi (<a href="https://www.insee.fr/en/information/2662494">SSF</a>) report in 2009. That report, headed by Jean-Paul Fitoussi and Nobel laureates Joseph Stiglitz and Amartya Sen, was commissioned by French president Nicholas Sarkozy – again a conservative on the political spectrum. It recommended monitoring a broad list of indicators of well-being and sustainability to guide policy.</p>
<p>The UK well-being initiative died as a policy framework with the demise of David Cameron. But the <a href="https://www.ons.gov.uk/">Office of National Statistics</a> has kept the UK’s well-being indicator framework alive. The Australian initiative was maintained by its treasury to inform policy considerations, but it <a href="https://treasury.govt.nz/sites/default/files/2017-10/tgls-gruen-speech.pdf">never made it to the frontline of political debate</a>.</p>
<p>The French framework is alive and well. A 2015 budget law requires the French government to <a href="https://www.gouvernement.fr/en/new-indicators-of-wealth">report the evolution of new wealth indicators</a> and to assess major reforms. Similar frameworks have been formally adopted as a basis for policy in several other countries. </p>
<h2>New Zealand’s approach to well-being</h2>
<p>The New Zealand approach is far from new, but it has some distinctive features. Most obviously, it addresses the well-being of New Zealanders rather than people elsewhere. The parallel <a href="https://www.stats.govt.nz/">Stats NZ</a> well-being indicator framework, Indicators Aotearoa New Zealand (<a href="https://www.stats.govt.nz/indicators-and-snapshots/indicators-aotearoa-new-zealand-nga-tutohu-aotearoa/">IANZ</a>), includes a selection of measures of how New Zealand interacts with the well-being of the rest of the world. </p>
<p>The LSF bears close similarities to the OECD’s <a href="http://www.oecdbetterlifeindex.org/#/11111111111">Better Life Index</a>. The LSF dashboard comprises 38 indicators across 12 well-being “domains” and measurements of inequalities across different population groups for nine of those domains. </p>
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<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/272140/original/file-20190502-117570-m26iqf.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/272140/original/file-20190502-117570-m26iqf.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=468&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/272140/original/file-20190502-117570-m26iqf.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=468&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/272140/original/file-20190502-117570-m26iqf.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=468&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/272140/original/file-20190502-117570-m26iqf.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=588&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/272140/original/file-20190502-117570-m26iqf.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=588&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/272140/original/file-20190502-117570-m26iqf.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=588&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<p>Perhaps the most valuable contribution of the LSF has been to highlight <a href="https://treasury.govt.nz/publications/ap/ap-18-04">differential aspects of well-being across population groups</a>. For instance, on average, Māori perform more poorly compared to the rest of the population on almost every well-being domain. While we suspected this before, some other interesting findings emerge. </p>
<p>Take age, for instance. Treasury shows that while older people’s health is likely to be poorer than average (which is not surprising) they do better, on average, than the rest of the population on most other measures, including material well-being such as income, consumption and housing. Most do not require extra help from government, and they do not need the <a href="http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PA1905/S00005/a-million-new-zealanders-supported-through-winter.htm">cash handout</a> that was misleadingly labelled the “<a href="https://www.workandincome.govt.nz/products/a-z-benefits/winter-energy-payment.html">winter energy payment</a>”. </p>
<h2>How best to use well-being data</h2>
<p>Most of the indicators included in both the LSF and IANZ already exist and have long been published by Stats New Zealand. My treasured 1903 (paper) copy of the <a href="https://yournz.org/2012/03/22/new-zealand-official-yearbook-available-online/">New Zealand Official Yearbook</a> contains over 750 pages of measures relating, inter alia, to well-being. For instance, it reports that there were 20 “lunatics” per 10,000 population in 1874, which rose to 34 by 1901, and that the proportion was higher among males than females. </p>
<p>For policy purposes, it’s not just what we measure but how we use it. While the treasury’s LSF follows a tried and true course internationally, its use has the potential to be novel. In his <a href="https://treasury.govt.nz/publications/budget-policy-statement/budget-policy-statement-2019-html">budget policy statement</a>, finance minister Grant Robertson listed five priority areas for the “well-being budget”:</p>
<ul>
<li><p>transitioning to a sustainable and low-emissions economy</p></li>
<li><p>boosting innovation, and social and economic opportunities in a digital age</p></li>
<li><p>lifting Māori and Pacific incomes, skills and opportunities</p></li>
<li><p>reducing child poverty, improving child well-being and addressing family violence</p></li>
<li><p>supporting mental well-being, with a special focus on under 24-year-olds.</p></li>
</ul>
<p>It’s not clear how the minister arrived at these five priorities, but prioritisation in fiscal policy is a virtue. The last National government went through a similar exercise with its <a href="http://www.ssc.govt.nz/better-public-services">Better Public Services</a> targets that aimed to reduce long-term welfare dependence, support vulnerable children, boost skills and employment and reduce crime. </p>
<p>The current government has insisted that “budget bids” by public sector agencies align with the five priorities. Even defence expenditures have been analysed as contributors to societal well-being. While we shouldn’t stretch the well-being policy framework too hard (or it may become a nonsense), the stated approach could see real progress in addressing issues at the heart of these priority areas. </p>
<h2>The acid tests</h2>
<p>There are two key tests. The first is whether the <a href="https://www.beehive.govt.nz/release/budget-2019-date-announced">2019 Well-being Budget</a> provides meaningful fillips to the five priority areas. Ignoring the opaque way in which these priorities were derived, the process will have paid dividends if it succeeds in focusing policy attention on key areas requiring social and economic policy. For too long, budgets have spread largesse thinly over many policy areas, achieving little in any of them. </p>
<p>The second test is whether resources are freed up for the five priority areas by cutting poorly performing programs. The winter energy payment is one example. Interest-free loans to students from wealthy families is another. </p>
<p>A true well-being budget will target public programs and resources to where they have the greatest bang-for-buck and will cease support for programs that have low well-being payoffs. I expect a moderate pass mark for the first test, but will be (pleasantly) surprised if I see a pass mark for the second.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/116296/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Arthur Grimes received funding from the Marsden Fund of the Royal Society of New Zealand. He is affiliated with Motu Economic and Public Policy Research and Victoria University of Wellington. </span></em></p>New Zealand’s upcoming budget takes a well-being approach based on a suite of living standard indicators. But will this be different to what conservative governments elsewhere tried a decade ago?Arthur Grimes, Professor of Wellbeing and Public Policy, Te Herenga Waka — Victoria University of WellingtonLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.