Measuring subjective wellbeing in Bangladesh, Ethiopia, Peru and Thailand using a personal life goal satisfaction approach

James Copestake, Centre for Development Studies, University of Bath
Laura Camfield, University of Oxford

Abstract

The paper sets out an approach to assessing people's wellbeing that focuses on their perceived attainment of life goals. Section 1 explains the motivation for seeking new ways of measuring subjective wellbeing in developing countries. Section 2 briefly reviews relevant literature and process of designing the data collection instrument (referred to as the WeDQoL). Sections 3 and 4 present illustrative empirical findings from its use in Bangladesh, Ethiopia, Peru and Thailand. Section 5 concludes that much scope remains for developing new tools, like the WeDQoL, usefully to inform public policy in developing countries.

Full Paper (pdf)