Wellbeing and Policy: Evidence for Action - A review and consideration for Scotland

A major new publication "Wellbeing and Policy" provides timely insights for Scotland's ongoing economic development discussions. The comprehensive analysis examines how countries worldwide are embedding wellbeing frameworks into their policy-making processes, with Scotland recognised alongside New Zealand and Iceland as a pioneering example of this approach. However, the book's extensive international evidence reveals both significant opportunities for Scotland to enhance its already substantial wellbeing policy infrastructure and critical lessons for other regions seeking similar transformation. Following the recent book launch as part of Wellbeing Economy Alliance - WEAll, I wanted to spend some time exploring key learning and reflecting on the insights from the editors and authors including Marie Briguglio, Natalia Czap and Kate Laffan.

The Global Shift Towards Wellbeing Economics

The publication reveals a fundamental question confronting policymakers today: whether it's sufficient for policies to implicitly target wellbeing, or whether the time has come to formally adopt wellbeing as a stated policy objective. As European Parliament President Roberta Metsola notes in the book's foreword, whilst European Union Member States generally rank highly on global wellbeing measures, "averages tend to hide nuances and too many Europeans struggle in terms of their daily wellbeing."

This observation resonates particularly strongly for Scotland, which has already established one of the world's most comprehensive wellbeing frameworks through its National Performance Framework, yet continues to face persistent inequalities and regional disparities that traditional economic indicators often fail to capture adequately.

Scotland's Position in International Context

The book positions Scotland as part of an elite group of "wellbeing worldbeaters" alongside New Zealand and Iceland, recognising Scotland's National Performance Framework as representing significant policy innovation. However, the international evidence presented suggests substantial opportunities for Scotland to enhance its approach by learning from other countries' experiences and addressing implementation gaps.

Scotland's membership of the Wellbeing Economy Governments partnership, alongside its provision of the Secretariat function, demonstrates international leadership in this space. Yet the book's analysis reveals that formal frameworks alone do not guarantee improved outcomes without robust implementation mechanisms and systematic evaluation approaches.

Learning from New Zealand's Systematic Implementation

Perhaps the most instructive comparison for Scotland comes from New Zealand's comprehensive transformation of its policy framework. Since 2011, New Zealand has developed and refined its Living Standards Framework, culminating in the world's first official Wellbeing Budget in 2019. Crucially, this approach was encoded in law through 2020 amendments requiring annual Wellbeing Budgets and regular Wellbeing Reports.

The New Zealand model demonstrates several principles that could strengthen Scotland's existing approach. Their framework balances top-down leadership with bottom-up community engagement, incorporating indigenous Māori perspectives alongside mainstream economic thinking. Most significantly, they developed practical tools including interactive wellbeing dashboards and cost-benefit analysis frameworks that convert wellbeing outcomes into measurable policy inputs.

The results have been tangible. New Zealand's wellbeing budgets have successfully targeted areas such as youth mental health, child poverty reduction, and cultural preservation, achieving what the book describes as "cost-effective win-win" outcomes that benefit both psychological wellbeing and economic productivity. Particularly significant was their focus on youth mental health, given that around 28% of high-schoolers experienced levels of psychological distress putting them at risk of serious mental illness.

Scotland's Health and Wellbeing Census reveals similar challenges, with 47% of young people showing mental health difficulties. The book's evidence suggests that Scotland could benefit from New Zealand's more systematic approach to converting wellbeing frameworks into targeted budget allocations and specific policy interventions. (If you are wanting to tap into some of the New Zealand Wellbeing Economy activity, make sure to connect with Gareth Hughes)

Research Evidence Across Key Policy Domains

The publication provides extensive empirical evidence across multiple policy domains that Scotland's economic development community should carefully consider. These findings challenge conventional policy assumptions and reveal complex relationships that purely economic indicators often obscure.

Income and Economic Interventions

The book's analysis of income and wellbeing reveals nuanced relationships that Scottish policymakers should understand deeply. Whilst higher income generally correlates with improved life satisfaction, the evidence documents diminishing returns and potential satiation points at higher income levels. Among low-income populations, targeted income interventions can significantly improve wellbeing, but these should be complemented by efforts to address stigma and trust, considering individual differences and community contexts. Crucially, when assessing costs and benefits of income interventions, the book advocates using subjective wellbeing valuation approaches rather than assuming higher income automatically translates to higher wellbeing.

Workplace Wellbeing and Productivity

The workplace wellbeing research provides particularly relevant insights for Scotland's economic development strategy. The evidence demonstrates that employee wellbeing directly influences organisational outcomes including productivity, performance, and retention. Key drivers affecting workplace subjective wellbeing include work-life balance, working arrangements, relationships with managers, social connections, and job fit. The book recommends that organisations collect subjective and objective wellbeing indicators regularly from all staff, develop policies supporting work-life balance and flexible working arrangements, and enhance collaboration between practitioners and academics to develop evidence-based interventions.

Housing and Community Development

Housing research reveals that adequate housing provides context for several wellbeing determinants including family life, social interaction, work choices, and environmental quality. The evidence shows housing tenure and improved housing quality positively link to wellbeing, whilst financial burden creates negative impacts. Significantly, the book emphasises that housing intervention effects are context-dependent, suggesting Scotland should feature housing and neighbourhood policies alongside wellbeing impact assessments in public sector agendas, involve targeted populations in intervention design, and invest in research examining interaction effects across income, age, and gender.

Environmental Quality and Sustainability

Environmental research provides compelling evidence for integrating environmental considerations into economic development strategies. Air and water pollution, excessive noise, and absence of green spaces lead to poor physical and mental health, reduced productivity, and lower subjective wellbeing. The book demonstrates that environmental interventions improve wellbeing both directly through environmental quality improvements and indirectly by signalling government action and transparency. Pro-environmental behaviours, particularly those that are visible and involve socialising, associate with higher subjective wellbeing. The evidence particularly emphasises combating environmental injustice, given that disadvantaged communities have fewer resources to improve environmental quality yet would benefit most from improvements.

Crime, Safety, and Community Trust

Crime research reveals counterintuitive findings that challenge traditional law-and-order approaches. Whilst direct relationships between individual victimisation and subjective wellbeing prove relatively weak, fear of crime and perceived unsafety show consistent negative effects on wellbeing. At country level, neither low crime rates nor repressive criminal policies necessarily translate into higher subjective wellbeing. Conversely, trust in police and legal systems appears crucial for enhancing wellbeing. The book recommends enhancing security through improved built environment quality, boosting police-community cooperation, encouraging community engagement, and focusing on rehabilitation rather than repressive measures.

Democratic Participation and Governance

Democracy research distinguishes between outcome utility derived from democratic process results and procedural utility gained from participation itself. The evidence demonstrates that individuals derive wellbeing not only from democratic outcomes but also from participating in processes, which enhances sense of self-worth. This suggests Scotland should investigate effects of proportional representation, direct democratic participation, and decentralised decision-making powers on wellbeing, whilst exploring institutional features enabling broad population inclusion and representation.

International Models and Diverse Approaches

The book examines various international approaches that offer different lessons for Scotland. Finland's Economy of Wellbeing National Action Plan demonstrates how to integrate sustainability thinking into knowledge-based decision-making whilst maintaining strong cross-governmental cooperation through frameworks that transcend individual political administrations. Their approach emphasises implementing both centralised and decentralised policies to promote sustainable wellbeing, measuring long-term economic sustainability and system resilience, and establishing decision-making processes independent of government composition.

The United Arab Emirates provides insights into institutional innovation, having established dedicated bodies including a Ministry of Happiness and Wellbeing alongside their National Wellbeing Strategy 2031. Their model balances top-down vision with bottom-up stakeholder consultation through adaptive approaches with regular strategy reviews. They employ comprehensive data collection including biennial National Wellbeing Surveys and real-time monitoring systems, demonstrating how systematic measurement can inform policy adjustment.

Malta's experience shows how smaller nations can successfully implement wellbeing frameworks during rapid development periods. Despite achieving top Human Development Index rankings over sixty years of independence, Malta has maintained focus on wellbeing indicators whilst pursuing economic growth. Their approach emphasises establishing cross-sectoral collaboration between government, academic institutions, and civil society organisations.

The UK's experience provides particularly relevant lessons given Scotland's context within the British system. The book documents how the UK's Measures of National Wellbeing framework encompasses ten topic areas including personal wellbeing, relationships, health, and governance. Since 2021, HM Treasury has introduced guidance for incorporating wellbeing evidence into policy-making, including methodologies for assessing and monetising wellbeing impacts. The UK approach emphasises considering wellbeing improvement and inequity reduction as concurrent policy goals, using evidence to determine both needs and assess effectiveness, and maximising wellbeing by prioritising work, income, society, governance, emotional mental health, relationships, and communities.

Building on Scotland's Foundations: Enhancement Opportunities

The book's international evidence suggests several areas where Scotland could enhance its already substantial wellbeing policy infrastructure. Whilst Scotland has developed comprehensive measurement systems through its National Performance Framework and established international leadership through the Wellbeing Economy Governments partnership, the evidence points to opportunities for strengthening implementation mechanisms and evaluation approaches.

Scotland's National Performance Framework, with its 11 National Outcomes and 81 indicators, represents one of the most comprehensive wellbeing measurement systems globally. However, the book's analysis of international experience suggests that measurement frameworks require complementary implementation tools to achieve their full potential. New Zealand's development of practical policy tools, including wellbeing cost-benefit analysis frameworks and interactive dashboards, provides models that could enhance Scotland's existing approach.

The book's emphasis on systematic evaluation and evidence-based policy development highlights opportunities for Scotland to strengthen its approach to learning from policy implementation. Whilst Scotland has created sophisticated policy frameworks, the international evidence suggests that sustained improvement requires robust evaluation infrastructure, regular monitoring of outcomes, and systematic integration of lessons learned into policy development processes.

The publication's analysis of successful wellbeing approaches consistently emphasises the importance of legal frameworks ensuring continuity beyond electoral cycles. Scotland's Community Empowerment Act provides some foundation for this, but the book's evidence suggests opportunities for stronger legal requirements around wellbeing consideration in policy-making and budget processes.

Implementation Lessons for Economic Development

The book identifies several critical success factors that Scotland should consider as it continues developing its wellbeing-focused economic development strategy. These lessons emerge from systematic analysis of successes and failures across multiple international contexts.

Strong leadership and legal frameworks prove essential for successful implementation. The book demonstrates that encoding wellbeing requirements in legislation drives rapid and widespread change across government departments. Whilst Scotland has some legal foundation through the Community Empowerment Act, the international evidence suggests opportunities for stronger statutory requirements around wellbeing impact assessment and budget integration.

Comprehensive citizen engagement emerges as crucial for successful wellbeing approaches. The book emphasises that asking people what matters to them and identifying circumstances influencing how they feel can help design fairer, more nuanced, and effective policies. Scotland's community planning approaches provide some foundation for this (and I have witnessed this first-hand through Locality Development Planning), but the evidence suggests opportunities for more systematic citizen engagement in wellbeing policy development and evaluation.

Practical tools and capacity building prove essential for translating wellbeing frameworks into effective policy action. The book demonstrates that policy-makers need access to wellbeing cost-benefit analysis tools, regular training programmes, and dedicated support networks to effectively implement wellbeing approaches. Scotland could benefit from developing policy analysis tools incorporating wellbeing impacts, providing ongoing training for policy-makers and analysts, and facilitating knowledge sharing across government departments.

Evidence-based measurement and evaluation systems emerge as fundamental requirements for successful wellbeing approaches. The book highlights the importance of collecting both objective and subjective wellbeing indicators, analysing data to identify improvement areas, and using evidence to determine both needs and assess intervention effectiveness. Scotland's existing measurement infrastructure provides a strong foundation, but the evidence suggests opportunities for enhanced evaluation approaches and stronger integration of lessons learned into policy development.

Addressing Implementation Challenges

The book acknowledges significant challenges facing wellbeing approaches whilst providing evidence-based solutions. Policy-makers and the public need to accept and understand these new frameworks for them to succeed, requiring substantial communication and education efforts. The evidence suggests highlighting wellbeing benefits of policy actions rather than presenting them as sacrifices, whilst communicating good outcomes clearly and transparently.

Data and measurement challenges remain persistent issues across all wellbeing domains, requiring dedicated research funding and innovative measurement approaches. The book emphasises distinguishing between objective circumstances and subjective evaluations, noting that education, income, and housing interventions change not only objective circumstances but also subjective evaluations of those circumstances. Scotland should invest in research plugging wellbeing measurement gaps, develop context-specific indicators, and conduct longitudinal studies examining intervention effects over time.

Resource allocation and priority setting emerge as complex challenges requiring careful attention. The book demonstrates that simultaneously improving multiple wellbeing domains on limited budgets necessitates careful prioritisation and targeted interventions. The evidence suggests using wellbeing cost-benefit analysis when designing policies, aiming to reduce inequality in wellbeing outcomes, and conducting wellbeing cost-benefit analysis using subjective wellbeing valuation approaches rather than assuming economic benefits automatically translate to wellbeing improvements.

Institutional and cultural barriers require systematic attention for successful wellbeing implementation. The book documents how wellbeing interventions often prove context-dependent, with results varying across income, age, gender, and cultural factors. Scotland should enhance collaboration between practitioners and academics, involve targeted populations in intervention design, and examine interaction effects across different demographic and cultural contexts.

Political and administrative continuity emerge as fundamental requirements for sustained wellbeing approaches. The book emphasises establishing decision-making processes independent of government composition, whereby politicians set values but wellbeing frameworks provide consistent measurement and evaluation approaches. Scotland's existing institutional arrangements provide some foundation for this, but the evidence suggests opportunities for stronger mechanisms ensuring policy continuity across political cycles.

Scotland's Opportunity in Global Context

For Scotland's economic development community, the book provides both validation of existing approaches and clear direction for enhancement opportunities. The publication demonstrates that wellbeing approaches are not merely academic concepts but proven policy frameworks delivering measurable improvements in citizens' lives through evidence-based interventions.

The evidence reveals complex relationships between economic indicators and actual wellbeing outcomes that Scotland's development practitioners must understand deeply. Income interventions show diminishing returns and context-dependency, workplace policies require attention to social connection and work-life balance alongside productivity, housing policies need wellbeing impact assessments, environmental improvements deliver both direct and indirect wellbeing benefits, and democratic participation enhances wellbeing through procedural as well as outcome utility. Yet there is a need to consider the inequalities which root these measures as part of a global trend of change.

Scotland's existing strengths, including democratic traditions, educated population, innovative policy culture, and international leadership through the Wellbeing Economy Governments partnership, provide solid foundations for implementing enhanced wellbeing frameworks. However, the book's evidence suggests that realising the full potential of these foundations requires dedicated attention to implementation mechanisms, systematic evaluation approaches, citizen engagement, and legal frameworks ensuring continuity across political cycles.

The book particularly emphasises that countries pioneering wellbeing approaches are not simply measuring success differently but achieving better outcomes through more comprehensive, citizen-centred, and sustainable policy frameworks that address structural inequalities whilst promoting both individual and collective wellbeing.

Conclusion

As Scotland continues developing its economic development strategy, the comprehensive evidence presented in this major academic publication offers valuable insights into enhancing approaches that have already positioned Scotland as a global leader in wellbeing policy. The book demonstrates that wellbeing approaches represent proven policy frameworks delivering tangible improvements in citizens' lives through evidence-based interventions, rather than merely aspirational concepts.

Scotland's National Performance Framework, international leadership through the Wellbeing Economy Governments partnership, and comprehensive measurement systems provide strong foundations for continued enhancement. However, the book's international evidence suggests significant opportunities for strengthening implementation mechanisms, evaluation approaches, citizen engagement, and legal frameworks to achieve the full potential of Scotland's wellbeing policy infrastructure.

The publication reveals that successful wellbeing approaches require systematic attention to implementation gaps, sustained commitment to evidence-based policy development, and realistic expectations about transformation timelines. For Scotland's economic development community, the evidence provides both validation of existing innovative approaches and clear direction for continued enhancement based on international best practice. Working as part of Wellbeing Economy Alliance Scotland (WEAll) over the last 3 years, I have seen first hand the impact that opportunities to implement transformational change in our economic delivery.