How's life? 2013 : measuring well-being / OECD.

"Every person aspires to a good life. But what does 'a good or better life' mean? The second edition of How's life? provides an update on the most important aspects that shape people's lives and well-being: income, jobs, housing, health, work-life balance, education, social connections, civic engagement and governance, environment, personal security and subjective well-being. It paints a comprehensive picture of well-being in OECD countries and other major economies, by looking at people's material living conditions and quality of life across the population. Through a wide range of comparable well-being indicators, the report shows that countries perform differently in the various dimensions of well-being. ... The report responds to the needs of citizens for better information on well-being and the needs of policy makers to give a more accurate picture of societal progress. In addition, the report contains in-depth studies of four key cross-cutting issues in well-being that are particularly relevant. First, this report analysis how well-being has changed during the global economic and financial crisis. ... Secondly, the report looks at gender differences in well-being, showing that the traditional gender gap in favour of men has narrowed but has not disappeared. ... Third, it looks at the quality of employment and well-being in the workplace. ... Finally, the last chapter of the report studies the links between current and future well-being. It looks at ways to define and measure sustainability of well-being over time. How's life? is part of the OECD Better Life Initiative, launched by the Organisation on the occasion of its 50th Anniversary in 2011. The OECD Better Life Initiative aims to promote 'Better Policies for Better Lives', in line with the OECD's overarching mission. One of the pillars of the OECD Better Life Initiative is the Better Life Index (www.oecdbetterlifeindex.org), an interactive composite index of well-being that aims at involving citizens in the debate on societal progress."--Page 4 of cover.