Publication type
Research Paper
Series Number
669
Series
CEP Occasional Papers
Author
Publication date
April 1, 2025
Summary:
There is a pressing need for a universal measure of children’s wellbeing, parallel to the WELLBY, for use in cost-benefit analysis. Currently, there is no consensus on how to value the wellbeing of children, raising concerns that their welfare is being undervalued in policy decisions. In this report, we discuss the issues inherent in measuring children’s wellbeing and investigate a policy-oriented solution: the C-WELLBY.
Children aged 10 and above generally demonstrate stable, valid responses to evaluative life satisfaction questions, as evidenced by analyses of both Understanding Society and the Active Lives of Children and Young People Survey. Consequently, we recommend the use of WELLBYs, valued at the usual £15,920 in 2024 prices (HMT, 2021), for cost-benefit analyses of policy affecting this age group. For children aged below 10, we recommend estimating a C-WELLBY using mapping functions, also valued at £15,920.
Subjects
Link
https://ideas.repec.org/p/cep/cepops/69.html
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