Book

Wellbeing in Developing Countries: From Theory to Research

Published on 31 May 2007

In a world where many experience unprecedented levels of wellbeing, chronic poverty remains a major concern for many developing countries and the international community. Conventional frameworks for understanding development and poverty have focused on money, commodities and economic growth.

This book challenges these conventional approaches and contributes to a new paradigm for development centred on human wellbeing. Poor people are not defined solely by their poverty and a wellbeing approach provides a better means of understanding how people become and stay poor. It examines three perspectives: ideas of human functioning, capabilities and needs; the analysis of livelihoods and resource use; and research on subjective wellbeing and happiness.

A range of international experts from psychology, economics, anthropology, sociology, political science and development evaluate the state-of-the-art in understanding wellbeing from these perspectives. This book establishes a new strategy and methodology for researching wellbeing that can influence policy.

Publication details

authors
Gough, I. and McGregor, J.A.
editors
Ian Gough and J. Allister McGregor
isbn
521857511

Share

About this publication

Programmes and centres
Centre for Social Protection

Related content

Brief

SSHAP West Africa Hub: Addressing the Kush Epidemic in Sierra Leone

SSHAP Briefing

4 November 2024