Economic considerations are at the heart of all political decisions. Subsidies, reluctance to widen the social safety net or further protect the environment – everything seems designed to ensure stronger growth in our consumption.
We bow to the demands of business lobbies. Billions are given to big businesses. Governments will even choose to relocate families, despite the negative impact on their mental health, rather than force a company to comply with environmental regulations.
Why is this? Because elected officials – and their constituents – believe that improving well-being only happens when people’s wallets are fatter. But isn’t it often said that money can’t buy happiness?
It is an age-old debate, but a trove of data sheds light on the subject. And it shows that having more money does increase your well-being, up until you reach an income threshold that allows you to live comfortably, with a roof over your head and enough to eat. Beyond this threshold, which most of us have reached, having more money increases well-being, but only temporarily, and only if you’re making more money than your friends.
Not only must we keep up with the Joneses, we must surpass them.
Research shows that economic growth has little long-term impact on life satisfaction in advanced countries. So, should we stop worrying about the economy? Of course not.
A well-functioning economy encourages innovation and ensures we use our limited resources as efficiently as possible. Strong growth helps ensure that everyone has enough income to live comfortably and to take advantage of the infrastructure that improves our quality of life. Also, since we compare ourselves with other regions as well as our nearby neighbours, having an average income comparable to or higher than that of other countries makes us more satisfied with our lot.
The problem is that economic considerations often take on disproportionate importance, to the detriment of other considerations. Again, research shows that there are roughly five important factors that affect our quality of life: our financial situation, our physical and mental health, our sense of belonging to a community, the quality and beauty of our living environment, and the quality of our governance.
It’s also important to ensure that everyone enjoys a good quality of life – again, it’s relative status that matters – and that this quality of life is sustainable for future generations.
All these factors are interrelated in a complex system. The economy cannot be strong if many people have mental health problems, if the government is corrupt, or if we are unable to trust each other. And a strong economy enables most people to have meaningful work, a key determinant of mental health.
The cost of well-being
It’s with that context in mind that governments in several countries have adopted multi-dimensional decision-making frameworks to ensure that their policies effectively improve citizens’ well-being, not just their wallets.
The best-known example is New Zealand’s “well-being budget,” but many other places are following suit. In Quebec, the G15+ collective is doing a lot of work to encourage governments to put well-being at the heart of their decisions. Many researchers across the country are pushing in the same direction.
Canada adopted a quality-of-life framework in the 2021 budget. To be useful this framework needs to be used in the decision-making process. The limited space given to it in the last federal budget and the little enthusiasm it produced suggest that it is merely being used to tick boxes rather than being incorporated as a useful tool. It’s a shame.
Sometimes it is difficult to choose among contradictory priorities. Is a policy that greatly enhances the economy, but has negative effects on the environment, better for people’s quality of life than another policy that has less economic but also less environmental impact? Or another policy that has no economic or environmental impact, but improves mental health?
How to compare the cost of cutting down trees with the benefit of maintaining jobs in certain industries or regions? It’s much easier to focus solely on the economy, or to avoid transparency about the reasoning behind choices.
Should we be surprised, then, that while the economy is delivering record employment rates, our mental health is declining, the quality of our river water is deteriorating, our greenhouse gas emissions are rising, government services are worsening, confidence in our institutions is eroding, and people’s life satisfaction is not improving?
TORONTO – Strength in the base metal and technology sectors helped Canada’s main stock index gain almost 100 points on Friday, while U.S. stock markets also climbed higher.
The S&P/TSX composite index closed up 93.51 points at 23,568.65.
In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average was up 297.01 points at 41,393.78. The S&P 500 index was up 30.26 points at 5,626.02, while the Nasdaq composite was up 114.30 points at 17,683.98.
The Canadian dollar traded for 73.61 cents US compared with 73.58 cents US on Thursday.
The October crude oil contract was down 32 cents at US$68.65 per barrel and the October natural gas contract was down five cents at US$2.31 per mmBTU.
The December gold contract was up US$30.10 at US$2,610.70 an ounce and the December copper contract was up four cents US$4.24 a pound.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
OTTAWA – Statistics Canada says wholesale sales, excluding petroleum, petroleum products, and other hydrocarbons and excluding oilseed and grain, rose 0.4 per cent to $82.7 billion in July.
The increase came as sales in the miscellaneous subsector gained three per cent to reach $10.5 billion in July, helped by strength in the agriculture supplies industry group, which rose 9.2 per cent.
The food, beverage and tobacco subsector added 1.7 per cent to total $15 billion in July.
The personal and household goods subsector fell 2.5 per cent to $12.1 billion.
In volume terms, overall wholesale sales rose 0.5 per cent in July.
Statistics Canada started including oilseed and grain as well as the petroleum and petroleum products subsector as part of wholesale trade last year, but is excluding the data from monthly analysis until there is enough historical data.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
TORONTO – Canada’s main stock index was up more than 150 points in late-morning trading, helped by strength in the base metal and energy sectors, while U.S. stock markets were mixed.
The S&P/TSX composite index was up 172.18 points at 23,383.35.
In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average was down 34.99 points at 40,826.72. The S&P 500 index was up 10.56 points at 5,564.69, while the Nasdaq composite was up 74.84 points at 17,470.37.
The Canadian dollar traded for 73.55 cents US compared with 73.59 cents US on Wednesday.
The October crude oil contract was up $2.00 at US$69.31 per barrel and the October natural gas contract was up five cents at US$2.32 per mmBTU.
The December gold contract was up US$40.00 at US$2,582.40 an ounce and the December copper contract was up six cents at US$4.20 a pound.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 12, 2024.
