Estimating the Mental Wealth of nations: valuing social production and investment

The influence of economic policies on social environments and mental health

“…As highlighted by the WHO Council on the Economics for Health for All, 42 it is critical that nations take steps to restructure their economies in ways that support both the mental and material dimensions of well-being and human flourishing. Economic policies and initiatives that offer promise in strengthening the mental health and mental wealth 43 of nations have been discussed in another publication. 44 A well-being economy seeks to better align and balance the interests of collective well-being and social prosperity with traditional economic and commercial interests.…”

“…Through six integrated streams of activities ( Box 1 ), mental wealth observatories provide essential national infrastructure to coordinate transdisciplinary actions. Priorities would include (i) regular reporting on the strength of the well-being economy, that is, the mental wealth of nations (Stream 1); 43 (ii) generating the transdisciplinary science needed to inform systemic reforms and coordinated policies across economic, environmental, health and social sectors (Streams 2, 3, 4); and (iii) engaging in the communication and diplomacy needed to achieve national and international cooperation in transitioning to a well-being economy (Streams 5, 6). A policy memo provides a more detailed blueprint for such activities.…”

“…Mental wealth is a measure that extends the boundary of GDP to include social production (the value of unpaid social contributions). 43 Social production is the glue that holds complex societies together. Social contributions foster community well-being, support economic productivity, improve environmental well-being and provide nations with surge capacity to respond to crises.…”

Navigating a stable transition to the age of intelligence: A mental wealth perspective

“…It emerged in response to the limitations of traditional measures like GDP in capturing societal prosperity, Mental Wealth expands the boundary of production to include currently unpaid activities that contribute to social prosperity including volunteering, caregiving, environmental protection/restoration, and civic participation. 24 Social production is the glue that holds societies together, fostering wellbeing and creating socioeconomic, and environmental ecosystems where humans can thrive. In the age of generative AI, social production emerges as a vital avenue for channeling human ingenuity and productive purpose and is a critical but overlooked enabler of the Sustainable Development Goals.…”

Building systemic resilience, productivity and well-being: a Mental Wealth perspective

“…Recent reports highlight that the greatest contributors to social production are those that are traditionally undervalued by the formal economy. For example, Americans aged 65 and over contributed US$319.22 billion in social production through voluntary work and community building activities, the largest contribution of any age group 30 31…”