lives even in very difficult circumstances. 3 this line of research has generated alternative measures of well - being that are frequently survey - based and incorporate elements such as psychological wellness, the level of education, physical health and safety, community vitality and the strength of family and social ties, and time spent in leisure activities. these measures have begun to inform official statistics and have started to be discussed in policy debates. an interesting and unique case is the kingdom of bhutan, which abandoned tracking gross national product in 1972 in favor of its gross national happiness index based on a survey that incorporates these types of indicators. taking the measurement of well - being in a cross - country framework, the organisation for economic co - operation and development ( oecd ), as part of its oecd better life initiative, has created a “ better life index ” that allows a side - by - side comparison of countries according to various quality - of - life indicators that could, at least in principle, be followed over time. 4 other somewhat - more - conventional economic indicators that bear on quality of life, and that accordingly might be developed and followed in more detail, include changes in the distribution of income, wealth, or consumption ; the degree of upward mobility in material measures of well - being ; indications of job security and confidence about future employment prospects ; and households ’ liquidity buffers or other measures of their ability to absorb financial shocks. all of these indicators could be useful in measuring economic progress or setbacks as well as in explaining economic decisionmaking or projecting future economic outcomes. see ben s. bernanke ( 2010 ), “ the economics of happiness, ” speech delivered at the university of south carolina commencement ceremony, columbia, s. c., may 8, www. federalreserve. gov / newsevents / speech / bernanke20100508a. htm. canonical models of economic decisionmaking presume individual maximization of “ utility, ” or well - being. they tend to focus on the consumption of goods or services and assume that more consumption is preferred to less. for example, see andrew mas - colell, michael d. whinston, and jerry r green ( 1995 ), microeconomic theory ( new york : oxford university press ). for examples drawn from organisation for economic co - operation and development countries from the mid1970s to the mid - 1990s, see rafael di tella and robert macculloch ( 2008 ), “ gross national happiness

we evaluate the range of measures that can help contain systemic problems, it is important to recognize that good consumer protection can play a supporting role by – among other things – promoting sound underwriting practices. last year the board adopted new regulations under the home ownership and equity protection act to enhance the substantive protections provided high - cost mortgage customers, such as requiring tax and insurance escrows in certain cases and limiting the use of prepayment penalties. these rules also require lenders providing such high - cost loans to verify the income and assets of a loan applicant and prohibit lenders from making such a loan without taking into account the ability of the borrower to repay the loan from income or assets other than the home's value. more recently, the board adopted new rules to protect credit card customers from a variety of unfair and deceptive acts and practices. the board will continue to update its consumer protection regulations as appropriate to provide households with the information they need to make informed credit decisions and to address new unfair and deceptive practices that may develop as practices and products change. systemic risk authority one issue that has received much attention recently is the possible benefit of establishing a systemic risk authority that would be charged with monitoring, assessing and, if necessary, curtailing systemic risks across the entire u. s. financial system. at a conceptual level, expressly empowering a governmental authority with responsibility to help contain systemic risks should, if implemented correctly, reduce the potential for large adverse shocks and limit the spillover effects of those shocks that do occur, thereby enhancing the resilience of the financial system. however, no one should underestimate the challenges involved with developing or implementing a supervisory and regulatory program for systemic risks. nor should the establishment of such an authority be viewed as a panacea that will eliminate periods of significant stress in the financial markets and so reduce the need for the other important reforms that i have discussed. the u. s. financial sector is extremely large and diverse – with value added amounting to nearly $ 1. 1 trillion or 8 percent of gross domestic product in 2007. systemic risks may arise across a broad range of firms or markets, or they may be concentrated in just a few key institutions or activities. they can occur suddenly, such as from a rapid and substantial decline in asset prices, even if the probability of their occurrence builds up slowly over time. moreover, as the current crisis has illustrated, systemic risks may arise at nonbank entities ( for example, mortgage brokers ),