The wellbeing agenda: Implications for policy

Over the past decade there has been increasing debate at both national and international level over the extent to which governments can improve the wellbeing of their citizens. This debate has a number of potential implications for policy, which this article reviews. The policy areas covered here include health, the economy, environment and planning, society and community based policy, and governance. The article acknowledges that wellbeing as a guide to public policy is very much a long term agenda with their being a number of issues that need to be addressed relating to political acceptability, technical feasibility and institutional capacity and receptiveness. However, this article reveals a range and depth of thinking on these options that was not apparent even just a few years ago, signalling the growing importance of this agenda.