Slide 1

Building Sustainable Well- Being at the Community Level CEDNet National Conference Opening Plenary Wall Centre, Vancouver, March 16, 2006 John F. Helliwell Arthur J.E. Child Foundation Fellow of the Canadian Institute for Advanced Research and UBC Slide 2 National averages of Life Satisfaction, on a scale of 1 to 10 Slide 3 Slide 4 Slide 5 What Supports Well-Being? Trust Engagement- the more we get together Employment (paid or not, in a good job) Family, friends and neighbours Good health High-quality of government, at all levels Adequate income, relative to expectations No TV? (ref Tannis MacBeth) Slide 6 Slide 7 Slide 8 Life satisfaction, trust in neighbours, moved in last five years, own house, by province, 10=maximum possible Slide 9 Life satisfaction, trust in neighbours, mobility and house ownership in Alberta, by census tracts, 10=maximum possible Slide 10 SWB effects of age and serious illness in two Canadian surveys Slide 11 Happiness by age group in Europe, by decade on a 4-point scale Slide 12 Relative Income and Happiness OECD below Developing above Slide 13 Effects of income on financial and life satisfaction in Canada Slide 14 SWB effects of frequent visits/contacts with family, friends and neighbors EDS & ESC Slide 15 Bottom line: Income equivalents of factors affecting life satisfaction Slide 16 More Bottom line: Income equivalents of factors affecting SWB Slide 17 $ Annual value of a bottom-to-top change in certain job characteristics, from ESC Slide 18 $ Annual value of a 75%-to-top change in workplace trust, from GSS and ESC Slide 19 Slide 20 Explaining international differences in well-being and suicide Betas Slide 21 More evidence on community and well-being The Swiss results (Frey and Stutzer): people are more satisfied with their lives in cantons with more responsive local government Suicide rates much lower (Chandler and Lalonde) in BC aboriginal communities with stronger cultures and local governance The secret to well-being, in two words? Engagement and Efficacy