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Social Indicators Research

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01.03.2013

Subjective Well-Being Approach to the Valuation of International Development: Evidence for the Millennium Development Goals

verfasst von: Edsel L. Beja Jr.

Erschienen in: Social Indicators Research | Ausgabe 1/2013

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Abstract

The subjective well-being approach to the valuation of international development is applied to the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). Results indicate that the rich countries have particular preference for education, healthcare, and housing; they are willing to accept compensation for a failure to meet the three targets by 2015. The poor countries view all the MDGs as important; they are willing accept compensation for a failure to achieve all the targets by 2015. Results also indicate that what the poor countries are willing to accept in terms of compensation matches the amount that would have been the pledge of 0.7% proportion of incomes of the rich countries for international aid. These findings imply that the MDGs can be accomplished at an affordable cost.

Vorheriger Artikel Exploring Wider Well-Being in the EU-15 Countries: An Empirical Application of the Stiglitz Report

Nächster Artikel The Relevance of Objective and Subjective Social Position for Self-Rated Health: A Combined Approach for the Swedish Context

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Welsch and Kühling (2009) and Frey et al. (2010) are recent surveys on the SWB approach to valuation. Recent surveys on the economics of subjective well-being are Frey and Stutzer (2002), (2005); Di Tella and MacCulloch (2006); Kahneman and Krueger (2006), and Stutzer and Frey (2010).

Given the contrast in the philosophies with regards to utility, research on subjective well-being deepened in areas outside of economics. See Diener (1984) and Diener et al. (1999) for reviews in psychology and Michalos (1980) for reviews in political science. Economics started to look more into subjective well-being in the 1990s starting with Clark (1997); Frank (1997); Ng (1997), and Oswald (1997), or two decades after Easterlin (1974). Recent public policy initiatives include the Commission on the Measurement of Economic Performance and Social Progress. See http://www.stiglitz-sen-fitoussi.fr/en/

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Based on the survey documentation, the MDGs were not asked in all the countries covered in World Values Survey 2005. Only five goals were asked in the survey and in sixteen countries: Brazil, Burkina Faso, Ethiopia, Finland, Germany, Japan, Mali, Norway, Rwanda, South Africa, Sweden, Switzerland, Thailand, Turkey, United States, and Zambia.

Among the rich countries, the five MDG items were asked in Finland, Germany, Japan, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland, and United States. In this paper, Norway was the random choice to represent the Scandinavian countries and the United States was the random choice to represent Germany and United States.

Between 1990 and 2005, international aid from the rich countries averaged 0.405% of GDP, roughly 60% of the commitments to provide 0.7% of GDP to international aid. The figures are much lower for international aid to the least developing countries, which averaged 0.124% in the same period. Even before 2008, international aid of the rich countries merely averaged 0.41% of their GDPs. In 2000, Denmark, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Norway, and Sweden were the only countries that fulfilled their international aid commitments of 0.7% of GDP for international aid. The same countries fulfilled their aid commitments in 2009. Data from the United Nations indicate that Luxembourg, Norway, and Sweden allocated more than 1% of their GDP to international aid.

The five MDG items were asked in Burkina Faso, Ethiopia, Mali, Rwanda, South Africa, and Zambia. Since South Africa is already a middle income country, it was excluded from the poor African countries grouping. Random selection of countries for this paper meant that Burkina Faso was not included in the final group. The poor countries in Asia were not part of World Values Survey 2005.

In addition to South Africa, three other middle income countries had responses to five MDGs: Brazil, Thailand, and Turkey. These countries are too diverse to comprise what can be considered a “homogenous” group even in terms of standards of living. Still, there was an attempt to analyze the data but the regressions provide little useful results. Four of the five MDGs (i.e., except MDG1: extreme poverty) came out to be statistically not significant.

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Titel: Subjective Well-Being Approach to the Valuation of International Development: Evidence for the Millennium Development Goals
verfasst von: Edsel L. Beja Jr.
Publikationsdatum: 01.03.2013
Verlag: Springer Netherlands
Erschienen in: Social Indicators Research / Ausgabe 1/2013
Print ISSN: 0303-8300
Elektronische ISSN: 1573-0921
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11205-011-9987-2

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