Classical and alternative indicators of well-being

Abstract

The article contains an overview of selected existing indicators of well‐being, mainly from the standpoint of economics. An analysis of classical indicators focusing mostly on material prosperity has been conducted in the first part of the article. Then, the more recent, alternative indicators of well‐being have been cited and briefly reviewed. Those alternative indicators take psychological, social and environmental factors, among others, into consideration. The important idea of sustainable development has also been presented, not only in context of development goals, but also as a concept of living a balanced life with less waste and needless consumption. In the later part, possible directions for measuring well‐being in the future have been presented. It has been noted, that while the classical indicators of well‐being often offer dated and impractical approaches, they prove to be highly useful when combined with analysing other, more contemporary data and indicators, due to the inherent material dimension of satisfying human needs.