Overarching Frameworks
Treasury's understanding of the term living standards goes beyond the narrow material definition - often proxied by GDP - to incorporate a broad range of material and non-material factors such as trust, education, health and environmental quality. Sometimes this is also called well-being or subjective happiness.
In taking a broad approach to understanding living standards, Treasury is in line with other economic institutions internationally such as the OECD’s Better Life Index, the United States Treasury, the International Monetary Fund and the Australian Treasury’s Wellbeing Framework. To read the 'Full Living Standards' paper, click here.
On the other hand, the Living Standards tool, with its five “points”, is intended as a way of helping policy analysts to consider a manageable list of the key issues that make the most difference considering the environment in which policy decisions are being taken now. The Living Standards policy tool strength is that it is more tractable; its weakness is that it cannot be comprehensive. Link to the tool page can be found here.
Please contribute to the Living Standards Knowledge Hub by adding your research and analysis here | measurement and statistics here.
Research and Analysis |
| Title | Sub-categories | Organisation | Date | Uploaded by |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Abstracts from the retirement and Te Kupenga talks at the Nov 2014 conference | Living conditions Social connection and governance | The Treasury | 2014 | Margaret Galt |
| Working together for Higher Living Standards: An Academic Perspective handout | Living conditions | Lincoln University (Staff) | 2014 | Margaret Galt |
| Monitoring Progress and wellbeing though a regional council lens | Culture and identity Economy Living conditions Social connection and governance | Wellington Regional Council | 2014 | Margaret Galt |
| The Journey So Far | Living conditions | The Treasury | 2014 | Margaret Galt |
| Wellington Region Genuine Progress Index (WR-GPI) | Living conditions | Wellington Regional Council | 2014 | Margaret Galt |
| Appendix to the Analysis of Indicator Frameworks for Commonality | Living conditions | Massey University (Staff) | 2014 | Margaret Galt |
| Analysis of Indicator Frameworks for Commonality | Living conditions | Massey University (Staff) | 2014 | Margaret Galt |
| 'A fair go' in public policy | Economy Health Living conditions Social connection and governance Water | Environment Canterbury | 2014 | David Bromell |
| Workshop Notes From Measurement to Policy October 2013 | Biodiversity Culture and identity Economy Living conditions Social connection and governance Work, knowledge and skills | The Treasury | 2013 | Margaret Galt |
| DISCOVERING COMMUNITY POWER: A GUIDE TO MOBILIZING LOCAL ASSETS AND YOUR ORGANIZATION’S CAPACITY | Social connection and governance | Other | 2005 | Graciela Rivera-Munoz |
Measurement and Statistics |
| Indicator Name | Data Source | Sub-categories | Frequency | Uploaded by |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sustainable Development Goals | Other | Air and atmosphere Biodiversity Culture and identity Economy Energy Health Innovation Land use Living conditions Population Social connection and governance Transport Waste Water Work, knowledge and skills | One-off | Amy Thomson |
| OECD Better Life Index - Adjusted - Austrian Preferences | Other | Ad-hoc | Joey Au | |
| Does Money Buy Me Love? Testing Alternative Measures of National Wellbeing | Motu | One-off | Joey Au | |
| OECD Better Life Index | Other | Air and atmosphere Biodiversity Culture and identity Economy Energy Health Innovation Land use Living conditions Population Social connection and governance Transport Waste Water Work, knowledge and skills | Ad-hoc | Joey Au |
Return to Research & Analysis | Measurement & Statistics.
Source: OECD
Source: Ministry of Social Development