Mae West once said “I’ve been rich and I’ve been poor. Rich is better.” But wealth is not the only determinant of happiness or quality of life, although it is frequently tied to numbers such as per capita shares in gross domestic product.
Even economist Simon Kuznets, whose work enabled the development of GDP measurement, once said that, “the welfare of a nation can scarcely be inferred from a measurement of national income as defined by the GDP.”
The Institute of Wellbeing
Affiliated with the University of Waterloo, Ontario, Canada, the Institute of Wellbeing is one of a number of non-governmental organizations that examines quality of life from more than just an economic perspective. In assessing living conditions it says it “takes into account the full range of social, health, environmental, and economic concerns of citizens.”
The Institute’s signature product is The Canadian Index of Wellbeing (CIW). The first report, entitled “How are Canadians Really doing?” was published in June 2009. It covers three topics: living standards, healthy populations, and community vitality.
Report on Living Standards
According to the CIW, Canadians in general enjoyed a rise in personal disposable income per capita of 28.8 percent between 1981 and 2008. That said, the already better off 20 percent of the population improved their living standards with an after-tax increase in income of 38.7 percent versus between 21 percent and 26 percent for everybody else. And, there was “little progress…in reducing poverty” while social safety supports dropped in availability and quality.
Meanwhile, the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce reports that the quality of working life in Canada is declining. Reporting on the bank’s Job Quality Index, Canadian Press (November 3, 2009) writes: “CIBC says its job quality index - which measures things like wages and part-time versus full-time work - has fallen 3.8 percent in the last six months.”
There are more part-time jobs, more people becoming self-employed, and fewer full-time jobs.
Trends in the Health of Canadians
The Canadian Index of Wellbeing points out that Canadians generally have good health and long life expectancies in a world where this is a minority benefit. But, that’s not the whole story. There are differences in health quality between social groupings.
More highly educated and wealthy Canadians are less likely to have diabetes and other chronic conditions. As well, all Canadians, regardless of income group, believe the quality of the country’s health care system has declined in recent years.
The report also notes that “health-adjusted life expectancy for Canadian women and men peaked in 1996 and has since started to drop.” It is becoming more likely that people in Canada will develop a chronic illness or a mental health issue during their lifetimes.
Another worrying trend is that there is a decline in the percentage of teenagers reporting excellent or good health.
Measuring Community Vitality
The report is quite positive about the vitality of Canada’s communities. Criteria for measuring in this area include; level of crime, amount of volunteering, experience of discrimination, participation in group activities, and the number of close relatives and supports.
Crime statistics have been showing a general decline for several years, which the CIW says is an indicator of stronger community relationships. This is also evidenced in an increase in compassion and support from family and friends.
Future Index of Wellbeing Reports
The Institute of Wellbeing says it intends to issue more reports covering topics such as: education, democratic engagement, arts, culture and recreation, time use, and the environment.
At some point all these individual sectors will be combined to produce a composite index. This will be a single number that will be adjusted on a continuing basis so that Canadians will be able to judge whether the quality of their lives is improving or declining
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