Economic Sense and Application Significance of Life Satisfaction Indicators

This study is devoted to generalizing the experience of constructing international and national, including Russian, life satisfaction indicators with the aim of theoretical substantiation and development of a methodology for constructing an indicator that has practical significance for characterizing the country’s progress in the direction of increasing the subjective well-being of its population. The fundamental basis for quantitative assessment of life satisfaction is the economic theory of happiness, which focuses on a multifaceted analysis of subjective well-being. Supporters of the economics of happiness argue that happiness can be measured through life satisfaction. The economics of happiness uses global and national population surveys on life satisfaction, happiness, and subjective well-being to assess the impact on the cognitive and emotional aspects of life of factors such as income, inflation, work, work-life balance, education, health, age, family relationships, moral values, environment, etc. The economic meaning and practical significance of life satisfaction indicators have specifics depending on the mission, level of coverage, and method of data collection and processing. This article reviews international life satisfaction assessments: the Happy Planet Index, the Legatum Prosperity Index, the OECD Better Life Index, How’s Life? - Measuring Well-Being, and the World Happiness Report. The specifics of national life satisfaction assessments are illustrated by examples of Bhutan’s Gross National Happiness (GNH) Index, The Australian Unity Wellbeing Index, and the UK Measures of National Well-being Dashboard. The most authoritative assessments in Russia include indices calculated by the VCIOM, the Public Opinion Foundation (FOM), the ROMIR Research Holding, and quality of life ratings for the population in the country’s regions. A quality of life satisfaction index for Russia has been developed based on a comprehensive approach (taking into account qualitative and quantitative variables), and a comparative analysis of happiness levels has been conducted for the four indices reviewed in the article that assess the happiness of the Russian population.