CRELL/JRC/OECD Workshop on Measuring Wellbeing and Societal Progress

The OECD, the Centre for Research on Lifelong Learning (CRELL) and the Joint Research Center of the European Commission (JRC) hosted a workshop on "Measuring Well-Being and Societal Progress" from 19-21 June 2006 at the University Cattolica in Milan. The meeting is instrumental in setting the direction for OECD and JRC research in this area over the coming years. Sir Tony Atkinson (Nuffield College, Oxford University) chaired the workshop.

• Day 1 focused on using the system of national accounts to measure elements of wellbeing/progress. Sessions included papers about how non-market factors can be brought into the national accounts framework, how to improve the way government output is measured and the contribution of culture to GDP.
• Day 2 considered the challenges of constructing comprehensive measures of wellbeing/progress. Papers focused on the structure of the theoretical framework for measuring wellbeing/progress by identifying key indicators of economic, social, environmental and cultural wellbeing as well as discussing the ways in which these indicators can be brought together to make a coherent system of information.
• Day 3 (half day) payed particular attention to the role of education for wellbeing/progress and was concluded with a panel debate that seeks to frame the OECD’s and the JRC’s research agendas in this area for the next few years.

This workshop is one of several events the OECD is co-ordinating as part of the World Forum project "Statistics, Knowledge and Policy".

Papers, background documents, slides and agenda can be found on the CRELL/JRC website.

Online movies: Click here to watch selected sessions of the workshop.