ABSTRACT
There is growing (scientific and political) support for the position that the measurement of well-being requires indicators going beyond income- or resource- based indicators. Discussions about these criteria are being held in economic sciences as well as in psychology. For some time, happiness had been promoted in both disciplines as a utilitarian-based criterion to monitor the quality of life from the perspective of citizens themselves. However, serious doubts about the use of happiness as a measure arose and alternatives to this utilitarian approach are being sought in both disciplines. In this chapter, we will address the shortcomings of the happiness approach, describe alternatives proposed in both disciplines and discuss where these converge.
From an economic perspective, the chapter elaborates on a conceptual framework of well-being based on the capabilities approach and current research on basic needs. In order to integrate sustainable development into the capabilities approach, this framework was broadened. One of the challenges is how to use and adapt the capabilities model such that it can be used for those aspects of sustainable development that go beyond individual well-being. Both a capabilities model for well-being and for sustainable development are proposed. These can be used to analyse the strategies chosen on different levels to satisfy human needs, and to study the capabilities needed to enable human flourishing and social equity.
From a psychologist’s perspective, we introduce a second framework that has been developed in research on human flourishing and mental health. This approach also goes beyond happiness and takes into account the individual’s self-realization as well as social integration and contribution in defining a good life. The challenge here will be to integrate this psychological perspective with the capabilities and sustainable development approaches.
