Reasons to be cautious about 'well-being' in economic development (and elsewhere). (2016)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Jenkins, Matt
• Is Part Of: International journal of happiness and development. Volume 3:Number 2(2016)
• Page Start: 108
• Page End: 124
• Publication Date: 2016
• Subjects: economic development -- statistical measurement -- metrics -- wellbeing -- Global South -- reductionism -- chaotic conception -- universalism -- power relations -- structural inequalities -- well-being; Happiness -- Economic aspects -- Periodicals; Happiness -- Periodicals; Well-being -- Periodicals; Quality of life -- Periodicals; 302.5
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 2049-2790

Abstract

'Well-being' is currently in vogue in policy-making circles in the Global North as a way of reconceptualising 'development'. This paper argues that its appearances are misleading. While the normative force of 'well-being' is accepted, what is being offered is a technocratic and reductionist programme which collapses 'well-being' into the statistical relation of a closed set of metrics. It is argued that 'well-being' as defined is a chaotic conception; not a concrete object but an evaluative state, and so such programmes necessarily fail to measure it. Further, it is argued that 'well-being' is already considered within economic development policy and that previous development initiatives would not have changed had well-being frameworks existed alongside them. It is suggested from this that 'well-being' merely provides a new way of describing economic development policy, without altering its fundamental logic or its inherent power relations.