How Was Life Volume II New Perspectives on Well Being and Global Inequality since 1820

Jul 6, 2026

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How Was Life? Volume II develops an OECD collaboration to extend the historical evidence behind well-being measurement. Building on the OECD Better Life Initiative and the Stiglitz, Sen and Fitoussi framework, it adds an historical and global dimension using comparable well-being indicators. The publication presents data across multiple well-being dimensions for 25 large countries, eight regions, and the world since 1820, using expertise from economic historians to evaluate long-term trends.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages267

Reading Time11 h 13 min

Preface

Collaboration and historical context

Objectives and scope of the volume

Data sources and well-being indicators

How Was Life? Volume II NEW PERSPECTIVES ON WELL-BEING AND GLOBAL INEQUALITY SINCE 1820 How Was Life? Volume II NEW PERSPECTIVES ON WELL‑BEING AND GLOBAL INEQUALITY SINCE 1820 This work is published under the responsibility of the Secretary-General of the OECD. The opinions expressed and arguments employed herein do not necessarily reflect the official views of OECD member countries. This document, as well as any data and map included herein, are without prejudice to the status of or sovereignty over any territory, to the delimitation of international frontiers and boundaries and to the name of any territory, city or area. The statistical data for Israel are supplied by and under the responsibility of the relevant Israeli authorities. The use of such data by the OECD is without prejudice to the status of the Golan Heights, East Jerusalem and Israeli settlements in the West Bank under the terms of international law. Note by Turkey The information in this document with reference to “Cyprus” relates to the southern part of the Island. There is no single authority representing both Turkish and Greek Cypriot people on the Island. Turkey recognises the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) . Until a lasting and equitable solution is found within the context of the United Nations, Turkey shall preserve its position concerning the “Cyprus issue”. Note by all the European Union Member States of the OECD and the European Union The Republic of Cyprus is recognised by all members of the United Nations with the exception of Turkey. The information in this document relates to the area under the effective control of the Government of the Republic of Cyprus. Please cite this publication as: OECD (2021), How Was Life? Volume II: New Perspectives on Well-being and Global Inequality since 1820 , OECD Publishing, Paris, [https://doi.org/10.1787/3d96efc5-en](https://doi.org/10.1787/3d96efc5-en). ISBN 978-92-64-80029-8 (print) ISBN 978-92-64-40315-4 (pdf) [Corrigendato publications may be found on line at:](Corrigendato publications may be found on line at: www.oecd.org/about/publishing/corrigenda.htm)[ www.oecd.org/about/publishing/corrigenda.htm](Corrigendato publications may be found on line at: www.oecd.org/about/publishing/corrigenda.htm).© OECD 2021 The use of this work, whether digital or print, is governed by the Terms and Conditions to be found at [http://www.oecd.org/termsandconditions](http://www.oecd.org/termsandconditions). 􀁟 3 Preface In 2014, the OECD published How Was Life?: Global Well-being since 1820, the result of a collaboration between the OECD and the OECD Development Centre, on one side, and an international group of economic historians organised around the Clio-Infra initiative and the Maddison Project, on the other (van Zanden et al. , 2014[1]) . This joint undertaking built on Angus Maddison’s long career at the OECD and the OECD Development Centre, and on the close contacts that he maintained with these institutions. In the 1990s and early 2000s, the OECD Development Centre had published Angus’ pioneering books on longterm economic growth in the world economy. How Was Life? emerged from talks about how to continue the work of Angus Maddison and add an historical and global dimension to the OECD’s Better Life Initiative, launched following the release of the Stiglitz, Sen and Fitoussi report (Report by the Commission on the Measurement of Economic Performance and Social Progress) (2009[2]). The goal was to provide an historical perspective to the evidence included in How’s Life?, the OECD report published bi-annually since 2011 and now in its fifth issue, which relies on a large set of comparable well-being indicators for OECD countries and, to the extent possible, other major economies. How Was Life? added an historical dimension to this endeavour, by presenting data on a broad range of well-being dimensions for 25 large countries , eight regions and the world as a whole for

FAQs

What is the primary purpose of How Was Life? Volume II?

To provide an historical perspective on well-being evidence by extending the OECD’s Better Life Initiative with global, long-run data since 1820.

Which initiatives and reports does the volume build on?

It connects to the OECD Better Life Initiative and the Stiglitz, Sen and Fitoussi report, and it continues work related to Angus Maddison’s long-term growth research.

How is the historical dimension of well-being data produced and validated?

Historical data come from an international group of economic historians associated with Clio-Infra, who supply both the data and expertise to assess quality and interpret long-term trends.

Jul 6, 2026

Upload by Liam