Subjective Well-Being and Public Policy

Can money buy happiness?  Is a rich country necessarily a happy nation?  Are economic indicators good measures of the citizens’ happiness, or subjective well-being?  What is the significance of these measurements for the public sector?

A Lee Kuan Yew Fellow, Professor of Psychology, and Director of the Behavioural Sciences Institute at the Singapore Management University, Professor David Chan has received numerous international awards for his research, including those that relate to the measurement of attitudes and perceptions.  He is also a consultant to many organisations on employee well-being and has been involved in national surveys on social attitudes.  He has also served on an international committee on the measurement of national well-being across countries, supported by several international associations of psychology. 

In this podcast, Professor David Chan shares his views about subjective well-being and its relevance for public policy, both globally and locally in Singapore.