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

), “ neuroeconomics, ” annual review of psychology, vol. 59 ( january ), pp. 647 – 72. see sabrina m. tom, craig r. fox, christopher trepel, and russell a. poldrack ( 2007 ), “ the neural basis of loss aversion in decision - making under risk, ” science, vol. 315 ( january ), pp. 515 – 18. see arthur conan doyle ( [ 1892 ] 1900 ), “ a scandal in bohemia, ” in the adventures of sherlock holmes ( new york : harper & brothers ), p. 7, available at http : / / books. google. com / books? id = rxajaaaaiaaj & printsec = frontcover & dq = adventures of sherlock holmes & source = bl & ots = tr8sxsuqhj & sig = 8d1uysv - d13w5iu5t66 tnzufboc & hl = en # v = onepage & q = it % 20is % 20a % 20capital % 20mistake % 20to % 20theorize % 20before % 20one % 20has % 20data & f = false. bis central bankers ’ speeches