Global Handbook of Quality of Life : Exploration of Well-Being of Nations and Continents.

Intro -- Foreword -- Acknowledgements -- Contents -- 1: Monitoring and Analyzing Quality of Life - An Introduction -- The First Measured Century -- New Emerging Goals: Quality of Life and Wellbeing -- Components of Quality of Life: Positive Wellbeing, Negative Wellbeing and Future Expectations -- Positive and Negative Evaluations - Praise and Criticism -- Objective and Subjective Views on Wellbeing -- Monitoring and Analyzing -- Single Events and Social Structures -- Nations and Continents in the Global Society -- Diversity and Inequality -- Long-Term Trends of World Social Development: Health, Wealth, Democracy (Part I) -- Monitoring Global Wellbeing: Objective and Subjective Measurement (Part II) -- Socio-economic Structures of Wellbeing (Part III) -- Social Structures of Wellbeing (Part IV) -- Wellbeing in Nations and Continents (Part V) -- Social Reporting on Wellbeing in Supranational Organizations (Part VI) -- Basic Dimensions of Global Wellbeing (Part VII) -- References and Selected Contributions -- Part I: Long Term Trends of World Social Development: Health, Wealth, Democracy -- 2: Demographic and Health Development in the Long Run -- Introduction -- Data Sources and Population Projections -- Global Demographic Trends -- Population Growth and Demographic Change -- Population Ageing and Age Structure -- Development of Health Indicators -- Child Mortality -- Maternal Mortality -- Family Planning -- HIV/AIDS -- Changes in the Global Burden of Disease -- Life Expectancy at Birth -- Summary -- References -- 3: Living Standards in a Modernizing World - A Long-Run Perspective on Material Wellbeing and Human Development -- Exploring the Change in Real Incomes and the Standard of Living -- The Rule of Sixteen -- The Measurement of Price Change -- How to Account for New Goods -- Greater Variety of Goods and Services -- Concepts of Living Standards.

Real Wages -- Gross Domestic Product -- Social Indicators and HDI -- Subjective Wellbeing -- Welfare Growth Before Industrialization -- GDP Per Capita Before 1800 -- Real Wages and International Welfare Ratios -- Explaining Conflicting Evidence from GDP Per Capita and Real Wages -- The Early Growth Paradox -- The British Standard of Living Debate -- The Antebellum Puzzle in the U.S. -- Welfare Effects of Industrialization Elsewhere -- Urban Disamenities, Health, and Public Policies -- Household Consumption and Child and Female Labor -- Working Hours and Leisure -- Long Term Inequality and Comparative Standards of Living in the Twentieth Century -- Concluding Comments: Human Development and Health Care Expenditures -- References -- 4: Wars and Violence Through the Centuries -- Introduction -- The Archaeology of War, Violence, and Wellbeing -- Some Methodological Remarks -- A Discursive Approach on War and Wellbeing in Ancient Times -- Gender and War -- Negative Impacts of War on Soldiers and Civilians -- Positive Impacts on Civilians and Soldiers -- The Origins of the Modern World (1000 CE 1750 CE) -- War and the Political and Economic Setting in the Middle Ages -- The Origins of Modern Colonialism -- War and Violence in Europe -- Imperialism: The Wealth of (Some) Nations and the Long Century of Wars (1750-2010) -- Emerging Nations States and Imperialism -- From the Rise of Racism to the Long Century of War -- Positive Effects of Modern Warfare -- The Technologization of Warfare -- Different Kinds of War in a Modern World -- The Positive and Negative Impacts of War -- Final Thoughts on the Relation Between Wellbeing and Wars -- The Principle of Diversification -- Ethical Implications on the Relation Between Wellbeing and War -- References -- 5: The Worldwide Spread of Democracy -- The Rise of the Republics -- The Democratization of the Republics.

The Expansion of Citizenries -- Declining Violence, Improving Wellbeing -- Democracy and Social Movements -- References (for Schaeffer) -- Part II: Monitoring Global Wellbeing: Objective and Subjective Measurement -- 6: Global Economic Accounting and Its Critics: Objective Approaches (1) -- Circular Flows of Economic Activity -- The National Accounting System (NAS): Technical Aspects -- Empirical Evidence -- NAS Extensions -- Critics of NAS -- Globalization and NAS -- Concluding Remarks -- References -- 7: The Human Development Index: Objective Approaches (2) -- Introduction -- Intellectual and Institutional Roots of the Human Development Index -- Utility, Welfare Economics, and the Capabilities Approach -- The Social Indicators Concept and Movement -- Development Economics and the United Nations Human Development Programme -- The Human Development Index at the Confluence of Developments in Welfare Economics, Social Indicators, and Development Economi... -- The Human Development Reports and the HDI -- The HDI Methodology -- The HDI and Its Revisions -- Supplementary Human Development Indices -- Some Empirical Findings -- Rankings of Countries -- Trends in Human Development -- Critique and Assessment of the HDI -- Criticisms of the HDI -- The HDI as a Social Indicator/Wellbeing Index -- References -- 8: The Index of Social Progress: Objective Approaches (3) -- Introduction -- Index of Social Progress (ISP) -- Weighted Index of Social Progress (WISP) -- Data Sources -- Country Selection -- Time Frame -- Levels of Analysis -- The WISP Versus Other Measures of Social Progress -- History of the Index of Social Progress -- Operationalization of the Index of Social Progress -- Findings -- Part 1: Trends in World Social Development - The Search for Global Wellbeing -- World Development Trends by Continental Groupings and Economic Development Levels.

The Developed Market Economies (DMEs) -- Africa -- Latin America and the Caribbean -- Asia -- Part 2: Regional and Subregional Development Trends -- Part 3: Development Trends in Selected Groupings of Countries -- European Development Trends -- Development Trends in Economies in Transition (EITs) -- Development Trends in Islamic Countries -- Development Trends in ``the BRICS´´ -- India -- Part 4: World Social Leaders (SLs), Middle Performing Countries (MPCs), and Socially Least Developed Countries (SLDCs) -- World Social Leaders -- World Middle Performing Countries -- World Socially Least Developed Countries -- Part 5: Countries with the Most Rapid WISP Gains and Losses -- Countries with the Most Significant WISP Gains -- Countries with the Most Significant WISP Losses -- Cartographic Representation of World Social Development -- Discussion -- References -- 9: The Overall Satisfaction with Life: Subjective Approaches (1) -- Historical Roots -- Development of the Field -- Plan of This Chapter -- What Is Life-Satisfaction? -- Life-Satisfaction and Other Qualities of Life -- Chances and Outcomes -- Outer and Inner Qualities -- Four Qualities of Life -- Livability of the Environment -- Life-Ability of the Person -- Utility of Life -- Satisfaction with Life -- Four Kinds of Satisfaction -- Satisfaction with Life-Aspects Versus Life-as-a-Whole -- Passing Delight Versus Enduring Satisfaction -- Definition of Life-Satisfaction -- Scope of Evaluation -- Temporal Range -- Variable Aspects -- Components of Life-Satisfaction -- Hedonic Level of Affect -- Contentment -- Measurement of Life-Satisfaction -- Common Questions -- Validity Doubts -- No Notion -- Reflected Appraisal -- Colored Answers -- Reliability Doubts -- Bias in Appraisal -- Bias in Response -- Comparability Across Nations -- World Database of Happiness -- How Satisfied Are We?.

Level of Life-Satisfaction -- Wide Differences Across Nations -- Most People Enjoy Life -- No Mere Resignation -- Why Still So Many Complaints? -- Average Life-Satisfaction Over Time -- How Do We Assess How Satisfied We Are with Our Life? -- Bottom-Up Calculation -- Inference on the Basis of Feeling -- Link with Components of Happiness -- Hedonic Level Depends on Gratification of Universal `Needs´ -- Contentment Depends on Meeting Culturally Variable `Wants´ -- Affective Experience Dominates in the Overall Evaluation of Life -- Theoretical Plausibility -- Empirical Indications -- Life-Satisfaction More Correlated to Affect than Contentment -- Satisfied with Unfulfilled Aspirations -- Satisfied in Spite of Value-Reality Gap in Nation -- Life-Satisfaction Drives Contentment Rather Than Reversely -- Conditions for Life Satisfaction -- Livability of the Environment -- Social Conditions -- Macro: Livability of Nations -- Meso: Livability of Organizations -- Micro: Individual Position in Society -- Physical Environment -- Life-Ability of the Person -- Course of Life-Events -- Relative Weight of Outer and Inner Conditions -- Variance in Life-Satisfaction Across Nations -- Variance of Life-Satisfaction Within Modern Nations -- Is Greater Life-Satisfaction Possible? -- Individual Life-Satisfaction Not Fixed -- Average Life-Satisfaction Not Stagnant -- Theoretical Flaws -- Is More Life-Satisfaction Desirable? -- Discussion and Future Expectations -- Limitation to Accumulation of Knowledge -- Limitations to Application of Knowledge -- References -- 10: Multi-item Measurement of Subjective Wellbeing: Subjective Approaches (2) -- Introduction -- Defining Subjective Wellbeing -- Issues in Scale Evaluation -- Psychometric Implications of HPMood -- Hedonic vs. Eudaimonic Measurement -- ImportancexSatisfaction -- Abstract vs. Specific Variables.

Proximal vs. Distal Variables.

'Quality of Life' data are now seen as a more rounded measure of a nation's development. This book covers many of dthe methods of gauging quality of life, and addresses the interactions between well-being and economic growth, and well-being and sustainability.

Description based on publisher supplied metadata and other sources.

Electronic reproduction. Ann Arbor, Michigan : ProQuest Ebook Central, 2024. Available via World Wide Web. Access may be limited to ProQuest Ebook Central affiliated libraries.