Dimensions and Measurement of Living Standards: Commentary

Abstract

Last couple of decades, there has been a remarkable surge of interest in measuring the progress of societies. Much of this concern has related to growing inequality in the distribution of money income, but it has also emphasised that many other factors influence economic welfare. Growth in income does not always advance human welfare. For example, if it involves reduced leisure, social amenity or imposition on family life and so on, and some non-income changes can make people much better off. The upshot at the level of theory is an important literature about the quality of life