PB4D6
Wellbeing for Policy - Dissertation
This information is for the 2022/23 session.
Teacher responsible
Dr Christian Krekel
Availability
This course is available on the MSc in Behavioural Science. This course is not available as an outside option.
This course, or its standard assessment equivalent (PB441), is compulsory for students on the wellbeing stream of MSc Behavioural Science.
Course content
This course aims to introduce students to the main concepts and tools of wellbeing for policy-making, with a focus on applicability in policies across all sectors (government, business, and NGOs). To achieve this aim, the course is based on ten lectures covering: 1) wellbeing theories and frameworks; 2) empirical evidence on the causes and consequences of wellbeing; 3) the importance of measurement and survey design; 4) data and methods for wellbeing policy analysis; 5) wellbeing policy analysis versus policy analysis using preferences; 6) wellbeing policy appraisal and evaluation; 7) wellbeing interventions; 8) embedding wellbeing into policy; 9) paternalism; 10) wellbeing as the goal?
Teaching
10 hours of lectures and 10 hours of seminars in the LT.
Indicative reading
Books
Adler, M. A., & Fleurbaey, M. (2016). The Oxford Handbook of Well-Being and Public Policy. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Clark, A. E., Flèche, S., Layard, R., Powdthavee, N., & Ward, G. (2018). The Origins of Happiness: The Science of Well-Being over the Life Course. Princeton: Princeton University Press.
Frijters, P., & Krekel, C. (2021). A Handbook for Wellbeing Policy-Making. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Layard, R. (2020). Can We Be Happier? Evidence and Ethics. London: Penguin.
Journal articles
Benjamin, D. J., Heffetz, O., Kimball, M. S., & Rees-Jones, A. (2014). What Do You Think Would Make You Happier? What Do You Think You Would Choose? American Economic Review, 102(5), 2083-2110.
Clark, A. E., Diener, E., Georgellis, Y., & Lucas, R. E. (2008). Lags And Leads in Life Satisfaction: a Test of the Baseline Hypothesis. Economic Journal, 118(529), F222-F243.
Clark, A. E., Frijters, P., & Shields, M. A. (2008). Relative Income, Happiness, and Utility: An Explanation for the Easterlin Paradox and Other Puzzles. Journal of Economic Literature, 46(1), 95-144.
De Neve, J.-E., & Oswald, A. J. (2012). Estimating the influence of life satisfaction and positive affect on later income usin