Welfare-reducing growth despite individual and government optimization

Ng, Siang; Ng, Yew‐Kwang

doi:10.1007/s003550000081

Cited by 21 publications

(10 citation statements)

References 11 publications

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“…At least at the social (and global) level, pursuit of economic growth may be illusory in not really increasing the value of the ultimate objective: happiness. In fact, if account is taken of the environmental disruption effects, economic growth may well be welfare‐reducing (Ng & Ng, 2001), if not survival‐threatening. However, as discussed in the previous section, there are some problems regarding the measurement of happiness particularly regarding interpersonal and intertemporal comparability.…”

Section: Results In Happiness Studies and Their Policy Implicationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Happiness Studies: Ways to Improve Comparability and Some Public Policy Implications*

2008

Economic Record

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Recent happiness studies by psychologists, sociologists and economists have produced many interesting results. These have important implications, including the need to focus less on purely objective (including economic) variables and more on subjective well‐being. In particular, the focus on GDP should be supplemented (if not replaced) by more acceptable national success indicators such as the environmentally responsible happy nation index. Welfare economics and cost–benefit analysis that are currently based on economic factors (which are in turn based on preferences) should be revised to be based on happiness or welfare. Public spending on areas important for welfare should be preferred over private consumption that is largely no longer important for long‐term welfare at the social level. Public policy should put more emphasis (than suggested by existing economic analysis) on factors more important for happiness than economic production and consumption, including employment, environmental quality, equality, health and safety. Above all, scientific advance in general and in brain stimulation and genetic engineering in particular may offer the real breakthroughs against the biological or psychological limitations on happiness. Some simple ways to improve the accuracy and comparability (including interpersonal) of happiness measurement are suggested: pinning down the level of neutrality, recognising the possible nonlinear scale used in self‐reports, and using the just perceivable increment of pleasure as the interpersonally comparable unit.

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Section: Results In Happiness Studies and Their Policy Implicationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Happiness Studies: Ways to Improve Comparability and Some Public Policy Implications*

2008

Economic Record

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“…There must be a vast number of authors that may be included under this. However, both knowledge and interest bias me to regard the analysis from my own family (Ng and Ng, 2001;Ng, 2003) as being notable. While focusing on environmental disruption, this analysis also takes account of relative competition and excessive consumerism or materialism.…”

Section: Four Types Of Welfare-reducing Growthmentioning

confidence: 96%

Welfare-Reducing Growth and Cost-Benefit Analysis: Essay in Memory of E.J. MISHAN

2016

Singapore Econ. Rev.

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Mishan’s emphasis on the costs of economic growth half a century ago is becoming more important in this era of environmental concerns. More recently, another possible source of immiserizing growth is the one-child policy (recently relaxed) of China. This resulted in a biased sex-ratio and higher competition to earn incomes (to increase the probability of getting a wife), resulting in positive effects on GDP but negative effects on welfare. The implications of welfare-reducing growth for cost-benefit analysis and the legalization of prostitution are also discussed.

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“…These measures show that the relationship between per capita income growth and well-being is not generally positive in real-world contexts, at least above some minimal income level [Frey and Stutzer (2002)]. Ng (2001) has shown that economic growth may reduce welfare even within a standard optimisation model. Sen and Haq in (1990) developed a more complete measure of human well-being, now widely used, called the Human Development Index (HDI).…”

Section: Innovative Approaches To Climate Change and Development Polimentioning

confidence: 99%

Climate Change and Economic Development: A Pragmatic Approach (Invited Lecture)

Gowdy¹,

Salman²

2022

pdr

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Two major problems promise to dominate economic and social policy during the twentyfirst century. These are global climate change and the growing gap between the rich and the poor. Economists are facing these issues at a time when many of the standard tools of economic analysis—for example, competitive general equilibrium and the theoretical system that supports it—have fallen into disfavour in analysing global issues involving uncertainty and irreversibility. This is both a challenge and an opportunity for development economics. This paper first examines economic models of human development and climate change, drawing, where possible, on the situation in Pakistan. We then outline an approach to coping with climate change based on new perspectives in behavioural and development economics, and on the likely consequences of global warming for Pakistan. We focus on adaptation to climate change rather than on mitigation strategies.

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Welfare-reducing growth despite individual and government optimization

Cited by 21 publications

References 11 publications

Happiness Studies: Ways to Improve Comparability and Some Public Policy Implications*

Happiness Studies: Ways to Improve Comparability and Some Public Policy Implications*

Welfare-Reducing Growth and Cost-Benefit Analysis: Essay in Memory of E.J. MISHAN

Climate Change and Economic Development: A Pragmatic Approach (Invited Lecture)

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