Corporate DispatchPro
Cultivating an economy of wellbeing In the past two decades, there were various attempts to create new metrics that determine tangible ways how to translate macro-economic wellbeing into an improved quality of life. While the tools for measuring economic progress are well-established, it is becoming ever more evident that they do not necessarily equate to better welfare. The discussion about quality of life may take a subjective turn, so determining the components that lead to it are generally less straightforward. Definitions as to what constitutes quality of life are also relative to the broader circumstances and the uncertainty driven by the pandemic is challenging many of the notions that we may have held until very recently. In 2007, the OECD and the EU Commission co-hosted a high-level conference to clarify which indices are most appropriate to measure progress and how these can best be integrated into the decisionmaking process led by public debate. In October 2019, the EU Council adopted conclusions on the discussion and invited member states and the EC to include an economy of wellbeing perspective horizontally in national and EU policies and to put people and their wellbeing at the centre of policy design. The main focus was that, while people’s wellbeing is a value in itself, it is also vital for the EU’s economic growth, productivity, long-term fiscal sustainability, and social stability. In this sense, the economy and wellbeing nurture a symbiotic relationship that asks more of development than just an increase in the material value of goods and services. 35
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