Mira Manini Tiwari (p), Raffaele Ventura

Mihaela Clincu

Despite calls to localise wellbeing understandings, and for reprisals of historic, territorial approaches to wellbeing, preliminary evidence suggests that indices – which, through data’s governing power, define and shape action towards wellbeing – nonetheless reflect temporally, geographically, and conceptually narrow understandings.

However, meaningful policy and civil society changes require concrete evidence and analysis, firstly of these differences, secondly of their subjectivities and provenance, and thirdly of the potential to engage with, apply, or improve indices. The novel dataset presented here addresses all three of these. The paper provides descriptive statistics for each strand, followed by discussions of their respective relevance and applications.

First, it analyses the definitions and contents of composite wellbeing indices. In particular, it examines parameters of long-term socio-environmental relations and equity; references to local concepts and practices; and indicators designed with community input. Furthermore, it details data disaggregation, capturing whose wellbeing is being measured and how.

Second, to contextualise the indices’ differences and gaps, the dataset investigates the political economy and geopolitics of index funding and production. This approach, demonstrated in prior datasets on governance and sustainable development, offers a valuable and hitherto under-applied understanding of how core policy concepts are operationalised, by revealing the economic status, actors, and geographies of the entities financing and producing indices that shape global discourse and local policies.

These analyses are pertinent both for nations outside and inside the normative 'centre'. For example, subjective wellbeing surveys in the European Union, through the examples in the questions, prescribe how wellbeing should manifest: cultural and recreational spaces, defined as libraries, museums, or concert halls, may not reflect those desired by contemporary, marginalised or diverse youth in Europe’s cities, and indicators of wellbeing may not meet the structural needs of women and men, biologically and in societal roles.

Finally, potential local, community-grounded measures of wellbeing derive their actionable meaning from the usability of the indices by the communities they intend to support. The dataset therefore examines the data quality, tailored to civil society and local government applications, and the accessibility in terms of FAIR data principles.

The dataset invites civil society and local governance actors to access and build on a delineation of the interdependencies, or lack thereof, between communities, places, and wellbeing measures. By mapping where definition, funding, production and access to wellbeing data (mis)align with their respective contexts, it elucidates the normative framework, and consequently where territorial approaches can intervene.

Mihaela Clincu (p), Alexandru Bănică

Foteini-Antonia Papadioti

The premises of sustainable development within the current worldwide context involve integrating diverse socio-cultural perspectives and addressing the challenges of globalization. From promotion of economic growth through trade in cultural goods to advancement of fundamental freedoms and protection of natural heritage, cultural factors influence the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). By fostering inclusivity, protecting intellectual property and promoting cultural diversity, culture enhances an integrative approach of sustainable development, transcending a purely economic growth paradigm. The general aim of the paper is to identify and highlight the potential of culture as enabler of the SDGs, in a broader well-being framework. The paper is based on a quantitative analysis using seven socio-cultural factors that cover the economic, social and environmental dimensions of sustainable development and aligned with the UNESCO thematic dimensions for culture in the 2030 Agenda, Culture|2030 Indicators (UNESCO, 2019), environment and resilience, prosperity and livelihoods, knowledge and skills, inclusion and participation. The analysis is focused on the influence of the socio-cultural factors to the achievement of the SDGs at the level of 149 countries over the period 2010–2021. The selected variables include the SDG Index, Natural Resource Protection, Intellectual Property, Share in total exports of cultural goods, Share in total imports of cultural goods, Cultural Diversity, Largest Minority, Freedom of Expression and Belief and as control variables GDP, subjective well-being and social capital. The paper findings show that there is a significant link between the socio-cultural variables and the SDGs. However, the paper also stresses that when considering the SDGs, culture contributes, but not as a sole driver, while economic and well-being factors also play a role. Therefore, socio-cultural factors should not be considered isolated, but in a broader frame, from the traditional economic measures to more qualitative aspects of development. Moreover, the analysis of the potential of culture to sustainable development shall consider the patterns and disparities among low and high-income countries over time. In conclusion, the envisaged factors underline the relevance of socio-cultural dimension in the benefit of the SDGs and not least on the overall well-being. Given the multi-dimensional factors of influence, culture should not be perceived as an optional consideration in development policies but generate action tools to benefit long-term policy coherence and governance.

Foteini-Antonia Papadioti (p), Vassilis Tselios

Alexandra Cehan

Well-being has become a key priority for the European Union, as reflected in its goals and policies. At a theoretical level, well-being is also an important issue within welfare economics, economic geography and regional science. This study aims to shed light on the evolution of well-being in Europe at national and sub-national (regional) level. A detailed investigation of this subject can offer to the European governments and policymakers the best way to solve the problems of contemporary societies and to enhance well-being in modern Europe.
Using regional European data for five programming periods, from 1989 to 2020 (1st: 1989-1993, 2nd: 1994-1999, 3rd: 2000-2006, 4th: 2007-2013 and 5th: 2014-2020), a multidimensional index is proposed that captures the well-being in the European regions. More specifically, this study also aims to shed light on the evolution of regional well-being.
This subject meets the needs of contemporary European societies for higher standards of living of the European citizens. However, some European regions have higher well-being levels than others. This gap is very interesting to be studied. We hope that this study will give insights on how the European Union could face the problems of socioeconomic division and inequality and how a balanced human development among territories could be achieved. Well-being measures can raise broader awareness of policy objectives by highlighting how policy might improve social and economic outcomes and improve policy coherence by emphasizing complementarities of different forms of public action.

Alexandra Cehan (p), Oana Mihaela Stoleriu

Raffaele Ventura

The relationship between tourism and wellbeing is a complex one. When referring in particular to nature-based tourism, this relationship is generally regarded from a positive perspective, as tourists’ engagement with nature is expected to determine mental and physical benefits for tourists. However, such benefits are highly dependent both on the characteristics of the destinations and on the tourists’ behavior. Among the nature-based tourism sites, delta regions stand out since they are rich in biodiversity, represent a paradise for birdwatching and are generally unique places for the exploration of the wildlife. Nonetheless, the manner in which these areas are designed to welcome tourists can have a major effect on the tourists’ experience and implicitly on their wellbeing. The current study aims to provide insights regarding the influence of the experiences that tourists have in delta regions on their wellbeing. To reach this aim, online visitor reviews for delta regions from Europe are used, which are analysed by employing both qualitative and quantitative methods. The results emphasize that these nature tourism experiences bring diverse benefits to tourists, dependent on the type of activities that they get involved in, but, at the same time, elements that appear to prevent tourists’ wellbeing at the destination are identified. Furthermore, differences are identified between the analysed delta regions regarding tourists’ experiences and their relationship to wellbeing, differences which once more stress out the fact that nature destinations do not automatically offer guarantees for the mental and physical wellbeing of tourists, as anthropic factors might interfere and should be considered.

Raffaele Ventura (p), Mira Manini Tiwari

Mira Manini Tiwari

With this paper, we propose a systematic review that investigates and synthesises the literature on wellbeing measurements, identifying the normative biases that shape global standards and influence policy design, with a focus on the environmental dimension of wellbeing. Despite the increasing proliferation of composite wellbeing measures, significant gaps remain, particularly in environmental, gender, and community dimensions. Many existing indices are shaped by political and economic assumptions, with their construction largely dominated by Western Europe and North America. As a result, these indices often reflect societal models that prioritize economic growth and material prosperity, sometimes at the expense of sustainability and social equity. A critical consequence of these biases is the marginalization of environmental considerations in wellbeing assessments. The failure to integrate the human-environment relationship into wellbeing frameworks can distort cost-benefit analyses, potentially discouraging policies that support sustainable development. When wellbeing is measured through indicators that overlook environmental and social dimensions, decision-makers may be less inclined to adopt policies that balance economic growth with long-term sustainability. The systematic review is conducted through an interdisciplinary assessment of the literature. We undertake a systematic review of the literature, critically analyzing the conceptualization and measurement of wellbeing. Such systematic analysis allows us to identify the key shortcomings in the methodological approaches used to construct composite indicators and the theoretical debates underpinning them. In particular, it explores the extent to which environmental dimensions are incorporated or excluded in the dominant conceptualizations and methodologies of wellbeing measurements. Furthermore, complementary to the systematic review, we develop a dataset that maps existing indices. Combining the dataset, its analysis and the results from the systematic review, we expose the conceptual limitations of measurements of wellbeing and argue for more localized, participatory, and qualitative approaches to wellbeing measurement.