A comparison of sustainable and inclusive wellbeing across the Atlantic
‣ GDP (or household income) alone is insufficient to measure wellbeing. Adopting new, distribution- and sustainability-sensitive welfare metrics, fully in line with the provisions of the EU Treaty, could help to shape more inclusive and balanced economic and social policies that also respect planetary boundaries.
‣ A broader look on societal wellbeing can modify the EU-US comparison substantially and yield very different conclusions on the relative performances over time. From 2010 2023, GDP per capita rose 25% in the United States (vs 17% in the EU). Yet the EU’s overall current wellbeing index increased by 9.5 percentage points while the US moved up by only 1.2 points.
‣ In terms of sustainable and inclusive wellbeing, the EU index improved by 4.0 percentage points in 2010-2023, while the US index declined by 0.5, highlighting the importance of factors like resources for the future, societal resilience, nature, inequalities, and institutional quality.
‣ The resources for the future index, however, is much higher in the US than in the EU, helped by the higher economic growth of the US.
‣ When GDP is adjusted for health and inequality, the EU comes out ahead: using an ‘equivalent income’ metric that incorporates life expectancy and income inequality, the EU surpassed the US by 2022
BENCZUR Peter;
CARIBONI Jessica;
DA COSTA Shaun Mark;
GIOVANNINI Enrico;
2026-04-29
Publications Office of the European Union
JRC146569
978-92-68-39449-6 (online),
OP KJ-01-26-184-EN-N (online),
https://publications.jrc.ec.europa.eu/repository/handle/JRC146569,
10.2760/6321921 (online),
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