Value for Money

The New Cost-Benefit Analysis Targeting Wellbeing
Erscheinungsjahr 2026
ISBN: 978-1-009-78317-0
Verlag: Cambridge University Press

Buch, Englisch, 250 Seiten

Governments spend billions on our behalf. But how should this money be spent? The purpose should be to increase the wellbeing of the people. So the best policies are those which produce the most wellbeing per pound spent. The new science of wellbeing now enables us to make these calculations. The authors of this book, led by Richard Layard, do just that across a whole range of government policies. And the results call for radical changes in priorities. This path-breaking book opens up a new approach to policy-making. It combines traditional economics with the new psychology of happiness. By valuing non-monetary outcomes it does what politicians have always wanted. Its methods have already been adopted by the UK Treasury and are relevant worldwide. If followed, they would produce a happier world. When people ask where do we go 'beyond GDP', this is the answer.

Autoren/Hrsg.

Frayman, David

Krekel, Christian

Layard, Richard

MacLennan, Sara

Parkes, Isaac

Inhaltsverzeichnis

Preface; 1. Introduction and summary; Part I. Methodology: 2. Rational government; Part II. Mental Health and Employment: 3. Talking therapies for adults; 4. Talking therapies for children; 5. Employment support for those who are sick; 6. Mental health promotion; Part III. Other Areas of Policy; 7. Education and skills; 8. Police; 9. Green space and the built environment; 10. Research and development; 11. Roads and railways; 12. Welfare payments and the state pension age; Concluding thoughts.

Über Autor(innen)

Frayman, David
David Frayman is a Research Economist at the LSE. His research appears in leading economics journals and shows how education and health policy can raise wellbeing. He trains public sector analysts in cost-benefit analysis and frequently speaks to policymakers on translating evidence into real world improvements in people's lives.

Krekel, Christian
Christian Krekel is Associate Professor of Behavioural Science and Co-Director of the Wellbeing Programme at the Centre for Economic Performance at LSE. He developed novel methods for policy analysis based on wellbeing data, including the 'WELLBY', which were adopted by the UK Treasury. Christian was awarded the Young Economist Award by the European Economic Association.

Parkes, Isaac
Isaac Parkes is a wellbeing researcher at the London School of Economics and the University of Oxford. He has served as an expert advisor to the HM Treasury's Green Book Supplementary Guidance on Wellbeing.

Layard, Richard
Richard Layard is Co-Director of the Wellbeing Programme at the Centre for Economic Performance, and Emeritus Professor of Economics at the LSE. He is one of the world's leading experts on the economics of wellbeing. He has written six books on the subject including Happiness: Lessons from a New Science (2005; translated into 20 languages). Until 2000 he worked on unemployment, co-writing the leading book Unemployment (1991). He is a member of the Hose of Lords and an active campaigner for better policy-making.

MacLennan, Sara
Sara MacLennan is a Resaearch Fellow at the Centre for Economic Performance, LSE. She co-authored UK Government guidance on how wellbeing evidence should be incorporated into policy development and analysis. Her career spans numerous roles as a Government Economist, cycling across continents, Head of Evidence at the What Works Centre for Wellbeing, alongside extensive experience teaching and designing courses for students and professionals.