The Office for National Statistics in the UK now undertakes annual surveys of subjective well-being. The first results, together with a set of exploratory articles are now available.
The measurement of subjective wellbeing is becoming of increasing interest to health economists, particularly those that are disillusioned with utility and QALY assessment. The ONS results demonstate the possible divergence between self-reported health and subjective well-being; about two in five of those who report bad or very bad health report a medium or high level of life satisfaction, whilst about one in five of those who report good or very good health report a low or very low level of life satisfaction.
If you are interested in subjective wellbeing, Tessa Peasgood leads our research in this area.