Editing Quality of life (section)

==Quantitative measurement==
Unlike [[Gross domestic product|''per capita'' GDP]] or [[standard of living]], both of which can be measured in financial terms, it is harder to make objective or long-term measurements of the quality of life experienced by nations or other groups of people. Researchers have begun in recent times to distinguish two aspects of personal well-being: ''[[Emotional well-being]]'', in which respondents are asked about the quality of their everyday emotional experiences{{snd}}the frequency and intensity of their experiences of, for example, joy, stress, sadness, anger and affection{{snd}}and ''life evaluation'', in which respondents are asked to think about their life in general and evaluate it against a scale.<ref>{{cite journal|doi=10.1073/pnas.1011492107|title=High income improves evaluation of life but not emotional well-being|date=2010|last1=Kahneman|first1=D.|last2=Deaton|first2=A.|journal=Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences|volume=107|issue=38|pages=16489–16493|pmid=20823223|pmc=2944762|bibcode=2010PNAS..10716489K|doi-access=free}}</ref> Such and other systems and scales of measurement have been in use for some time. Research has attempted to examine the relationship between quality of life and productivity.<ref>[http://www.kansascityfed.org/Publicat/RESWKPAP/PDF/RWP07-02v4.pdf Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City, ''The Increasing Importance of Quality of Life'', October 2008] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121019030621/http://www.kansascityfed.org/Publicat/RESWKPAP/PDF/RWP07-02v4.pdf |date=19 October 2012 }}</ref> 

There are many different methods of measuring quality of life in terms of health care, wealth, and materialistic goods. However, it is much more difficult to measure [[Meaning of life|meaningful]] expression of one's desires. One way to do so is to evaluate the scope of how individuals have fulfilled their own ideals. Quality of life can simply mean [[happiness]], which is the subjective state of mind. By using that mentality, citizens of a developing country appreciate more since they are content with the basic necessities of health care, education and child protection.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Singer|first=Peter|date=2011|title=The Big Question: Quality of Life: What Does It Mean? How Shoulf We Measure It?|volume=28|issue=2|pages=3–6|journal=World Policy Journal|doi=10.1177/0740277511415049|pmid=22165429|s2cid=22394600}}</ref>

According to ecological economist [[Robert Costanza]]:{{blockquote|While Quality of Life (QOL) has long been an explicit or implicit policy goal, adequate definition and measurement have been elusive. Diverse "objective" and "subjective" indicators across a range of disciplines and scales, and recent work on [[subjective well-being]] (SWB) surveys and the psychology of happiness have spurred renewed interest.<ref>{{cite journal|url=http://sapiens.revues.org/index169.html|author=Costanza, R.|display-authors=etal|year=2008|title=An Integrative Approach to Quality of Life Measurement, Research, and Policy|journal=S.A.P.I.EN.S|volume=1|issue=1|access-date=5 May 2009|archive-date=8 May 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110508130612/http://sapiens.revues.org/index169.html|url-status=live}}</ref>}}

===Human Development Index===
{{Main | Human Development Index}}
Perhaps the most commonly used international measure of development is the [[Human Development Index]] (HDI), which combines measures of life expectancy, education, and standard of living, in an attempt to quantify the options available to individuals within a given society. The HDI is used by the [[United Nations Development Programme]] in their [[Human Development Report]]. However, since 2010, The [[Human Development Report]] introduced an [[List of countries by inequality-adjusted HDI|Inequality-adjusted Human Development Index]] (IHDI). While the original HDI remains useful, it stated that "the IHDI is the actual level of human development (accounting for [[Social inequality|inequality]]), while the original HDI can be viewed as an index of 'potential' human development (or the maximum level of HDI) that could be achieved if there was no inequality."<ref>[http://hdr.undp.org/en/statistics/understanding/indices Human Development Index, "Composite indices – HDI and beyond"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160810022820/http://hdr.undp.org/en/statistics/understanding/indices |date=10 August 2016 }}, Retrieved 16 January 2021.</ref>

===World Happiness Report===
{{Main | World Happiness Report}}
[[File:World map of countries by World Happiness Report score (2023).svg|thumb|250x250px|Map showing happiness of countries by their score according to the [[:File:World map of countries by World Happiness Report score (2023).svg|2023 World Happiness Report]]]]
The World Happiness Report is a landmark survey on the state of global happiness. It ranks 156 countries by their happiness levels, reflecting growing global interest in using happiness and substantial well-being as an indicator of the quality of human development. Its growing purpose has allowed governments, communities and organizations to use appropriate data to record happiness in order to enable policies to provide better lives. The reports review the state of happiness in the world today and show how the science of happiness explains personal and national variations in happiness.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://worldhappiness.report/|title=World Happiness Report|date=2016|website=Overview|publisher=Helliwell, J., Layard, R., & Sachs, J. (2016). World Happiness Report 2016, Update (Vol. I). New York: Sustainable Development Solutions Network|access-date=12 May 2016|archive-date=11 February 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210211080715/https://worldhappiness.report/|url-status=live}}</ref> 

Developed again by the [[United Nations]] and published recently{{when|date=October 2022}} along with the HDI, this report combines both objective and subjective measures to rank countries by happiness, which is deemed as the ultimate outcome of a high quality of life. It uses surveys from [[Gallup (company)|Gallup]], real GDP per capita, healthy life expectancy, having someone to count on, perceived freedom to make life choices, freedom from corruption, and generosity to derive the final score. Happiness is already recognized as an important concept in global public policy. The World Happiness Report indicates that some regions have in recent years{{when|date=October 2022}} been experiencing progressive inequality of happiness.<ref>{{Cite journal|date=26 March 2016|title=Health and Happiness|journal=The Lancet|doi=10.1016/S0140-6736(16)30062-9|pmid=27025416|volume=387|issue=10025|pages=1251|last1=The Lancet|s2cid=35328608}}</ref>

===Other measures===
The [[Physical Quality of Life Index]] (PQLI) is a measure developed by sociologist [[M. D. Morris]] in the 1970s, based on basic literacy, infant mortality, and life expectancy. Although not as complex as other measures, and now essentially replaced by the Human Development Index, the PQLI is notable for Morris's attempt to show a "less fatalistic pessimistic picture" by focusing on three areas where global quality of life was generally improving at the time, while ignoring [[gross national product]] and other possible indicators that were not improving.<ref>{{Cite journal | last = Morris | first = Morris David | title = The Physical Quality of Life Index (PQLI) | journal = Development Digest | volume = 1 | pages = 95–109 | date = January 1980 | issue = 1 | pmid = 12261723 }}</ref>

The [[Happy Planet Index]], introduced in 2006, is unique among quality of life measures in that, in addition to standard determinants of well-being, it uses each country's [[ecological footprint]] as an indicator. As a result, European and North American nations do not dominate this measure. The 2012 list is instead topped by [[Costa Rica]], [[Vietnam]] and [[Colombia]].<ref>{{cite web | title = The Happy Planet Index 2.0 | publisher = New Economics Foundation | date = 2012 | url = http://www.happyplanetindex.org/ | access-date = 2 September 2012 | archive-date = 26 September 2009 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20090926174209/http://www.happyplanetindex.org/ | url-status = live }}</ref>

In 2010, [[The Gallup Organization|Gallup research]]ers trying to find the world's [[happiness|happiest]] countries found [[Denmark]] to be at the top of the list.<ref>{{cite magazine |url=https://www.forbes.com/2010/07/14/world-happiest-countries-lifestyle-realestate-gallup-table.html |title=Table: The World's Happiest Countries |magazine=Forbes |first=Francesca |last=Levy |date=14 July 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303180745/http://www.forbes.com/2010/07/14/world-happiest-countries-lifestyle-realestate-gallup-table.html?partner=popstories|archive-date=3 March 2016}}</ref> For the period 2014–2016, Norway surpasses Denmark to be at the top of the list.<ref>{{Cite web|date=20 March 2017|title=The Happiest and Unhappiest Countries in the World|url=https://news.gallup.com/opinion/gallup/206468/happiest-unhappiest-countries-world.aspx|access-date=9 September 2021|website=Gallup |language=en|archive-date=3 August 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210803084043/https://news.gallup.com/opinion/gallup/206468/happiest-unhappiest-countries-world.aspx|url-status=live}}</ref>

A 2010 study by two [[Princeton University]] professors looked at 1,000 randomly selected U.S. residents over an extended period. It concludes that their ''life evaluations'' – that is, their considered evaluations of their life against a stated scale of one to ten – rise steadily with income. On the other hand, their reported quality of ''emotional daily experiences'' (their reported experiences of [[joy]], [[affection]], [[Stress (biology)|stress]], [[sadness]], or [[anger]]) levels off after a certain income level (approximately $75,000 per year in 2010); income above $75,000 does not lead to more experiences of happiness nor to further relief of unhappiness or stress. Below this income level, respondents reported decreasing happiness and increasing sadness and stress, implying the pain of life's misfortunes, including [[disease]], [[divorce]], and [[solitude|being alone]], is exacerbated by [[poverty]].<ref>{{cite web|title=Higher income improves life rating but not emotional well-being|url=http://www.physorg.com/news203060471.html|publisher=PhysOrg.com|access-date=20 September 2010|date=7 September 2010|archive-date=5 August 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110805201731/http://www.physorg.com/news203060471.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

[[Gross national happiness]] and other subjective measures of happiness are being used by the governments of [[Government of Bhutan|Bhutan]] and the United Kingdom.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/interactive/well-being-wheel-of-measures/index.html|title=Measures of National Well-being|website=Office for National Statistics |access-date=20 November 2013|archive-date=3 December 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131203030116/http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/interactive/well-being-wheel-of-measures/index.html|url-status=dead }}</ref> The World Happiness report, issued by Columbia University<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.earth.columbia.edu/sitefiles/file/Sachs%20Writing/2012/World%20Happiness%20Report.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120410013818/http://www.earth.columbia.edu/sitefiles/file/Sachs%20Writing/2012/World%20Happiness%20Report.pdf |archive-date=10 April 2012 |url-status=live|title=World Happiness Report|editor1=John Helliwell |editor2=Richard Layard |editor3=Jeffrey Sachs|publisher=The Earth Institute - Columbia University }}</ref> is a meta-analysis of happiness globally and provides an overview of countries and grassroots activists using GNH. The [[Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development|OECD]] issued a guide for the use of subjective well-being metrics in 2013.<ref>{{cite book|title=OECD Guidelines on Measuring Subjective Well-being|url=http://www.oecd.org/statistics/Guidelines%20on%20Measuring%20Subjective%20Well-being.pdf |doi-access=free |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130425022747/http://www.oecd.org/statistics/Guidelines%20on%20Measuring%20Subjective%20Well-being.pdf |archive-date=25 April 2013 |url-status=live|year=2013|publisher=Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development|isbn=978-92-64-19165-5|doi=10.1787/9789264191655-en}}</ref> In the U.S., cities and communities are using a GNH metric at a grassroots level.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.happycounts.org/happiness-initiatives/ |title=Happy Places |website=The Happiness Initiative |access-date=20 November 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131202222632/http://www.happycounts.org/happiness-initiatives/ |archive-date=2 December 2013 }}</ref>

The [[Social Progress Index]] measures the extent to which countries provide for the social and environmental needs of their citizens. Fifty-two indicators in the areas of basic human needs, foundations of wellbeing, and opportunity show the relative performance of nations. The index uses outcome measures when there is sufficient data available or the closest possible proxies.

Day-Reconstruction Method was another way of measuring happiness, in which researchers asked their subjects to recall various things they did on the previous day and describe their mood during each activity. Being simple and approachable, this method required memory and the experiments have confirmed that the answers that people give are similar to those who repeatedly recalled each subject. The method eventually declined as it called for more effort and thoughtful responses, which often included interpretations and outcomes that do not occur to people who are asked to record every action in their daily lives.<ref>{{Cite book|title=The Politics of Happiness : What Government Can Learn from the New Research on Well-Being |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qSsmPYJ5jfYC&pg=PA32 |last=Derek|first=Boc|publisher=Princeton University Press|date= 2010|isbn=9781400832194|location=United States|pages=32}}</ref>

The Digital Quality of Life Index - a yearly study on digital well-being across 121 countries created by [[Surfshark]]. It indexes each country according to five pillars that impact a population's digital quality of life: internet affordability, internet quality, electronic infrastructure, electronic security, and electronic government.<ref>{{Cite web|date=21 September 2023|title=What's the 'digital quality of life' level in your country?|url=https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2023/09/digital-quality-life-internet-affordability-cybersecurity/ |first1=Charlotte |last1=Edmond |access-date=30 October 2023|website=World Economic Forum |language=en|archive-date=30 October 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231030154215/https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2023/09/digital-quality-life-internet-affordability-cybersecurity/|url-status=live}}</ref>

===Livability===
{{Main|Livability}}
[[File:Stadtfest Wien 20090426 - Temporary picnic zone 'Burggarten' a.jpg|thumb|The [[Economist Intelligence Unit]] awarded [[Vienna]] the [[most livable city]] in 2019 [[Global Liveability Ranking]].<ref>{{cite news |title=Vienna holds off Melbourne to top EIU ranking of most liveable cities |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-global-cities-ranking-idUSKCN1VO2TZ |first1=Francois |last1=Murphy |work=Reuters |date=3 September 2019 |language=en |access-date=16 October 2022 |archive-date=16 October 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221016151927/https://www.reuters.com/article/us-global-cities-ranking-idUSKCN1VO2TZ |url-status=live }}</ref>]]
The term ''quality of life'' is also used by politicians and economists to measure the livability of a given city or nation. Two widely known measures of livability are the [[Economist Intelligence Unit]]'s [[Where-to-be-born Index]] and [[world's most livable cities|Mercer's Quality of Living Reports]]. These two measures calculate the livability of countries and cities around the world, respectively, through a combination of [[Subjectivity|subjective]] life-satisfaction surveys and objective determinants of quality of life such as divorce rates, safety, and infrastructure. Such measures relate more broadly to the population of a city, state, or country, not to individual quality of life. Livability has a long history and tradition in [[urban design]], and neighborhoods design standards such as [[LEED-ND]] are often used in an attempt to influence livability.  

====Crimes====
Some crimes against property (e.g., [[graffiti]] and [[vandalism]]) and some "[[victimless crimes]]" have been referred to as "quality-of-life crimes". American [[sociologist]] [[James Q. Wilson]] encapsulated this argument as the [[broken windows theory]], which asserts that relatively minor problems left unattended (such as litter, [[graffiti]], or public urination by [[homeless]] individuals) send a [[subliminal message]] that disorder, in general, is being tolerated, and as a result, more serious crimes will end up being committed (the analogy being that a broken window left broken shows an image of general dilapidation).

Wilson's theories have been used to justify the implementation of [[zero tolerance]] policies by many prominent American [[mayor]]s, most notably [[Oscar Goodman]] in [[Las Vegas]], [[Richard Riordan]] in [[Los Angeles]], [[Rudolph Giuliani]] in [[New York City]] and [[Gavin Newsom]] in [[San Francisco]]. Such policies refuse to tolerate even minor crimes; proponents argue that this will improve the quality of life of local residents. However, critics of zero tolerance policies believe that such policies neglect investigation on a case-by-case basis and may lead to unreasonably harsh penalties for crimes.