TY  - THES
UR  - https://frw.studenttheses.ub.rug.nl/1285/
AV  - public
ID  - theses_frw1285
A1  - Prenzel, Paula V.
M1  - master
Y1  - 2013///
TI  - When the Mix Matters: Complementarities in Multidimensional Well-Being
N2  - In discussions of the concept of well-being as an alternative measure of development and welfare, it is considered a multidimensional notion. However, for simplicity, the dimensions of well-being are often modelled as substitutes. This research analyses the effects of relaxing the assumption of substitutability to account for possible complementarity. In particular, if well-being dimensions are complementary, a more balanced distribution across the dimensions is preferable to an unbalanced one. This claim is justified theoretically and tested using a panel dataset of 22 European countries. The results show that an unbalanced distribution of well-being is correlated with lower life satisfaction. The effect of accounting for complementarities in well-being comparisons is analysed using the OECD TL2 regions. This example illustrates that assuming either substitutability or complementarity profoundly affects the outcome of cross-sectional well-being analysis and should therefore be considered when aiming to use well-being to guide policy.
ER  -