Institute of Development Studies

Sarkozy Commission Calls for a Shift in Development Thinking towards Wellbeing

16 September 2009

On 14 September 2009 the Commission on the Measurement of Economic Development and Social Progress published its final report. The Commission, created by President Sarkozy in 2008, has been reflecting on the adequacy of current measures of economic performance and how measures of development could take better account of societal wellbeing.

A key message of the Commission is that there is a need ‘to shift emphasis from measuring economic production to measuring people's wellbeing.' At the same time, showing awareness of the global challenges of climate change, the report emphasises that the focus on human well-being must be framed in terms sustainability.

This shift in emphasis in how we measure development is a straightforward recognition that what we measure tends to shape what kinds of policy we develop and that the challenges that we currently face globally require different kinds of policy approaches. IDS Research Fellow Allister McGregor has been exploring the importance of wellbeing in international development policy and practice and recently co-edited an issue of the journal of Applied Research in Quality of Life on the subject.

Allister McGregor and fellow IDS Research Fellow Andy Sumner - exploring the evolution of thinking around the UN Millennium Development Goals - have noted that although development has traditionally assessed human needs just in terms of material wellbeing, there is a new view emerging of ‘3D Human Wellbeing'. This takes account of what a person has but also what they are able to do with what they have and how they think about what they have and can do.

The Commission on the Measurement of Economic Development and Social Progress was chaired by Professors Joseph E. Stiglitz, Amartya Sen and Jean-Paul Fitoussi and drew contributions from internationally renowned experts from universities, governmental and intergovernmental organisations. The main body of their report elaborates extensively on the conceptual basis for and technical possibilities of realising this shift to focus on human wellbeing.

The report identifies four target audiences: political leaders, policymakers, academics and civil society activists. It concludes by stating that it sees the challenges raised by this report as not an end of discussion but a starting point for national and global initiatives and debates over '... societal values, for what we, as a society, care for and whether we are really striving for what is important.' It offers a profound and exciting challenge for development thinkers.

Related Publications

• McGregor, J.A. and Sumner, A. (2009) 'After 2015: '3D Human Wellbeing'', IDS In Focus Policy Briefings 9.2, Brighton: IDS