People’s quality of life and well-being are increasingly considered key determinants in the development of our society. They are fundamental factors in driving economic growth, as well as in reducing health vulnerability. Measuring progress in society by solely using economic indicators as gross domestic product (GDP) is to ignore the complexities of modern societies and the multifaceted reality behind individual and societal well-being. To build more resilient and inclusive societies, policymakers need to take into account both the economic and non-economic factors driving progress and citizens’ well-being.
This CHES online Policy Dialogue looked at how health and well-being considerations can be integrated into policymaking. The All Policies for a Healthy Europe multi-stakeholder initiative presented its work on measuring well-being. Participants reflected on the aspects essential to quality of life and discussed how to complement economic growth measurements with social progress indicators in order to better inform the policymaking process.