Measuring Well-Being beyond GDP: Pollution- and Education-Adjusted Healthy Lifetime Income Estimates for 175 Countries

We measure well-being across 175 countries using a novel indicator: Pollution-and Education-Adjusted Healthy Lifetime Income (PEHLI). This indicator goes beyond the mere consideration of per capita gross domestic product (GDP) and can be interpreted as the income of the average person in an economy during the years that they spend in good health, adjusted for education and pollution in the given country. Our study addresses how incorporating health, education, and environmental quality reshapes crosscountry wellbeing assessments. Our analysis reveals significant differences in country rankings when compared to GDP-based measures. PEHLI ranks pollution-intensive countries lower and cleaner countries higher. Countries with better education levels in terms of attainment and opportunities also tend to rank higher under PEHLI. Across countries, incorporating health and education widens inequality, while incorporating pollution narrows it slightly; higherlatitude countries generally enjoy greater well-being. By adopting PEHLI, policymakers would gain a comprehensive framework for their decision-making processes that incorporates the well-being dimensions of health, longevity, education, and pollution into a single income-based measure.