Using subjective well-being to estimate the moral weights of averting deaths and reducing poverty

Abstract

This study proposes using subjective well-being (SWB) to assess the impact of different interventions on human lives. The approach relies on well-being adjusted life years (WELLBYs), as a common currency by which the impact of changes is measured using scales of SWB like life satisfaction. The authors stress that WELLBYs are not an alternative to frameworks like cost-effectiveness analysis but, rather, one additional method to incorporate into current models. Toward this end, the study illustrates the use of WELLBYs by estimating the relative values of two of the three key outcomes in GiveWell’s model: doubling consumption and averting the death of a child under 5 years old. Their approach uses evidence from randomized controlled trials of cash transfers in Kenya to model the impact over time. For the second outcome, the study considers both deprivationist and time relative interest account approaches, and it concludes with suggestions for further research. – AI-generated abstract.