quality of life

(noun)

The general well-being of societies, including not only wealth and employment, but also the environment, physical and mental health, education, recreation and leisure time, and social belonging.

Related Terms

Examples of quality of life in the following topics:

  • Evaluating GDP as a Measure of the Economy

    • The value of GDP as a measure of the quality of life for a given country may be limited.
    • However, the value of GDP as a measure of the quality of life for a given country may be quite poor given that the metric only provides the total value of production for a specific time interval and provides no insight with respect to the source of growth or the beneficiaries of growth.
    • Following on his caution with respect to economic extrapolations from GDP, in 1962, Kuznets stated: "Distinctions must be kept in mind between quantity and quality of growth, between costs and returns, and between the short and long run.
    • However, a qualitative assessment would likely value the latter country compared to the former on a welfare or quality of life basis .
    • Assess the uses and limitations of GDP as a measure of the economy

  • Catch-Up: Possible, but not Certain

    • Growth of productivity: the growth of productivity is the ratio of economic output to input (capital, labor, energy, materials, and services).
    • Quality of life: happiness has been shown to increase with a higher GDP per capita.
    • Quality of life is a direct result of economic growth.
    • When poverty is alleviated and society has access to what it needs, the quality of life increases.
    • Consistent quality of life leads to continued economic growth.

  • Arguments in Favor and Opposed to Economic Growth

    • In other words, economic growth is an expansion of the economic output of a country.
    • Over the long-run economists might look at the per-capita rate of GDP growth (the growth of the ratio of GDP to the population).
    • For example, a growth rate of 2.5% per annum leads to a doubling of the GDP within 29 years.
    • In contrast, a growth rate of 8% per annum leads to a doubling of the GDP within 10 years.
    • Quality of life: the quality of life increases in countries that experience economic growth.

  • Impact of Immigration on the Immigrant

    • Primarily, immigrants choose to leave their home country in order to improve their quality of life.
    • One of the initial challenges faced by immigrants is the cost of immigrating.
    • The majority of challenges associated with immigration deal with assimilating into life in the host country.
    • Immigrants must learn a new way of life and become familiar with the language and laws of the host country.
    • When most immigrants choose to leave their home country, the intent is to move in order to obtain a higher quality of life in the host country.

  • Basic Economics of Natural Resources

    • The main objective of natural resource economics is to gain a better understanding of the role of natural resources in the economy.
    • Extraction: the process of withdrawing resources from nature.
    • Protection: the preservation of natural resources for the future.
    • The findings of economists help governments and organization develop measures of protection to sustain natural resources.
    • Particular focus is placed on how the preservation of natural resources impacts the quality of life now and for future generations.

  • GDP per capita

    • GDP per capita is often used as average income, a measure of the wealth of the population of a nation, particularly when making comparisons to other nations .
    • Per capita income is often used to measure a country's standard of living.
    • Without using measures of income adjusted for inflation, they will tend to overstate the effects of economic growth.
    • If the distribution of income within a country is skewed, a small wealthy class can increase GDP per capita far above that of the majority of the population.
    • For this reason GDP per capita may not necessarily be a barometer for the quality of life in a given country.

  • Basic Ingredients of the U.S. Economy

    • The number of available workers and, more importantly, their productivity help determine the health of an economy.
    • The quality of available labor -- how hard people are willing to work and how skilled they are -- is at least as important to a country's economic success as the number of workers.
    • In the early days of the United States, frontier life required hard work, and what is known as the Protestant work ethic reinforced that trait.
    • Labor-force quality continues to be an important issue.
    • GDP shows the market value of the goods and services an economy produces, but it does not weigh a nation's quality of life.

  • Introducing the Budget Constraint

    • The opportunity cost of the former is the high quality foods which have the convenience factor of already being prepared for you while the opportunity cost of the latter is having enough food to feed yourself for the entire month.
    • In this circumstance the decision is easy, and the trade off will be sacrificing convenience and high quality food for the ability to have enough food on the table over the course of the whole month.
    • To apply this to a real-life situation, pretend you have $100 to spend on food for the month.
    • The opportunity cost of the former is the high quality foods which have the convenience factor of already being prepared for you while the opportunity cost of the latter is having enough food to feed yourself for the entire month.
    • In this circumstance the decision is easy, and the trade off will be sacrificing convenience and high quality food for the ability to have enough food on the table over the course of the whole month.

  • Product Differentiation

    • For example, a generic brand of cereal might be exactly the same as a brand name in terms of quality.
    • However, consumers might be willing to pay more for the brand name despite the fact that they cannot identify why the more expensive cereal is of higher "quality. "
    • Horizontal: the products are differentiated based on a single characteristic, but consumers are not clear on which product is of higher quality; and
    • Vertical: the products are differentiated based on a single characteristic and consumers are clear on which product is of higher quality.
    • Ignorance of buyers regarding the essential characteristics and qualities of goods they are purchasing;

  • Inventions, Development, and Tycoons

    • The "Gilded Age" of the second half of the 19th century was the epoch of tycoons.
    • Morgan, perhaps the most flamboyant of the entrepreneurs, operated on a grand scale in both his private and business life.
    • In contrast, men such as Rockefeller and Ford exhibited puritanical qualities.
    • The technological revolution of the 1980s and 1990s brought a new entrepreneurial culture that echoes of the age of tycoons.
    • Most American business leaders of today do not lead the high-profile life of Gates.