We care about WALYs not QALYs

Abstract

I often see media coverage of effective altruism that says “effective altruists want to maximise the number of QALYs in the world.” (e.g. London Review of Books). This is wrong. QALYs only measure health, and health is not all that matters. Most effective altruists care about increasing the number of “WALYs” or well-being adjusted life years, where health is just one component of wellbeing.