Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/1959.11/8072
Title: Comment: "Time Use and Subjective Well-being in France and the US"
Contributor(s): Bittman, Michael  (author)
Publication Date: 2009
DOI: 10.1007/s11205-008-9364-y
Handle Link: https://hdl.handle.net/1959.11/8072
Abstract: This is a timely and well written article. There has been global dissatisfaction with existing measures of human progress. A broad theme of the article is a claim that the U-index is a superior metric of well-being than the conventional measures of progress. The basic premise of the article seems to be that societies differ in the extent that they make it possible for individuals to avoid unpleasant activities. The authors generally do a good job of explaining how they attempt to measure and summarize the inverse of happiness/pleasure. The results, based on a single location in each nation, suggest that French (women) do better than American (women) because their society allows them to allocate their time in way that avoids spending time in some of the more painful activities. Over the past 40 years the lives of American men have involved less pain, i.e., has improved. While these results are intriguing there are still a number of elementary questions about the U-index that remain unanswered.
Publication Type: Journal Article
Source of Publication: Social Indicators Research, 93(1), p. 33-35
Publisher: Springer Netherlands
Place of Publication: Netherlands
ISSN: 1573-0921
0303-8300
Fields of Research (FoR) 2008: 169999 Studies in Human Society not elsewhere classified
160801 Applied Sociology, Program Evaluation and Social Impact Assessment
160899 Sociology not elsewhere classified
Socio-Economic Objective (SEO) 2008: 970116 Expanding Knowledge through Studies of Human Society
970117 Expanding Knowledge in Psychology and Cognitive Sciences
HERDC Category Description: C2 Non-Refereed Article in a Scholarly Journal
Appears in Collections:Journal Article

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