The Wellbeing Research & Policy Conference 2022

6-8 July University of Oxford

Programme

Wednesday 6th July: Welcome

Arrival and registration at our conference venue in Worcester College

Introductory drinks and dinner at Worcester College

Thursday 7th July: Research

Breakfast and continued registration

Break for coffee and refreshments

Session #1: Fundamental issues in wellbeing measurement (I)

Chair: Prof. Claudia Senik (Paris School of Economics)

Caspar Kaiser (University of Oxford)
‘Machine Learning and Human Wellbeing’

Mark Fabian (University of Cambridge)
‘What Do Responses to Life Satisfaction Scales Mean? Evidence from Cognitive Interviewing’


Session #2: Wellbeing policy and interventions (I)

Chair: Dr. Chris Barrington-Leigh (McGill University)

Christian Krekel (LSE)
‘Happy to Help: The Welfare Effects of a Nationwide Micro-Volunteering Programme’

George MacKerron (University of Sussex)
‘Back to Edgeworth? Estimating the Value of Time Using Hedonic Experiences’

Sarah Fleche (University Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne/LSE)
‘Do Family Policies Improve Mothers’ Wellbeing?’


Session #3: Economics of wellbeing

Chair: Prof. Andrew Oswald (University of Warwick)

Alois Stutzer (University of Basel)
‘Does the Dream of Home Ownership Rest Upon Biased Beliefs? A Test Based on Predicted and Realized Life Satisfaction’

Lauren Howe (Universität Zürich)
‘The Human Cost of COVID-19: CEO Acknowledgment of the Costs of Crisis and its Effect on Company Financial Value During Economic Turbulence’

Sergio Pirla (Universitat Pompeu Fabra)
‘Happiness Without a Financial Safety Net: Low Income Predicts Emotional Volatility’


Session #4: Wellbeing in education

Chair: Laura Taylor (University of Oxford)

Jose Marquez (University of Manchester)
‘The #BeeWell Project: Making Young People’s Wellbeing Everybody’s Business’

Julie Selwyn (University of Oxford)
Linda Brikheim-Crookall (Coram Voice)
The Subjective Wellbeing of Children in Care of the State’

Kelsey O’Connor (National Institute of Statistics and Economic Studies of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg)
‘Effects of Teaching Practices on Life Satisfaction and Test Scores: Evidence from the Program of International Student Assessment (PISA)’

Break for lunch

Awards Ceremony. More information to follow.

Break for coffee and refreshments

Session #5: Fundamental issues in wellbeing measurement (II)

Chair: Prof. Laura Kubzansky (Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health)

Alex Bryson (UCL)
‘Taking the Pulse of Nations: A Biometric Measure of Well-being’

Johannes C. Eichstaedt (Stanford University)
‘The Current State of the Art in the Population Measurement of Well-being Through Twitter’

Luciano Espósito Sewaybricker (University of São Paulo)
Mbyá Guarani’s teko porã: An Indigenous Perspective on Wellbeing and Obstacles to Measure It’


Session #6: Wellbeing policy and interventions (II)

Chair: Prof. Alois Stutzer (Basel University)

Giulia Ferrari (LSE)
‘The Impact of Empowerment and Intimate Partner Violence Prevention Programming: Which Measures of Wellbeing Better Capture Welfare Effects?’

Gang Chen (Monash University)
‘Developing Preference-Based Wellbeing Index: Discrete Choice Experiments from Five Developed Countries’

Yoon Irons (University of Derby)
‘Group Singing as an Effective Wellbeing Intervention for Older Adults’


Session #7: The future of work and wellbeing

Chair: Laura Giurge (LSE/University of Oxford)

Claudia Senik (Paris School of Economics)
‘Adopting Telework. The Causal Impact of Working from Home on Subjective Well-being in 2020’

Eliza-Jane Stringer (LSE)
‘People Versus Machines: The Impact of Being in an Automatable Job on Australian Workers’ Mental Health and Life Satisfaction’

George Ward (MIT)
‘Workplace Happiness and Employee Recruitment: Evidence from a Field Experiment’


Session #8: Global perspectives on wellbeing

Chair: Prof. Carol Graham (Brookings Institution)

Caroline Chesang
Giulia Greco (London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine)

‘Exploring the Relationship Between Violence and Subjective Wellbeing: Evidence from Nyarugusu Refugee Camp in Tanzania’

Anne-Marie Bagnall (Leeds Beckett)
‘Community Power and Its Connection to Positive Wellbeing and Health in Places of Multiple Deprivation’

Chris Barrington-Leigh (McGill University)
Response Functions Around the Globe: Cultural Differences in Cognitive Evaluations of Life’

Evening aperitifs and exclusive dinner at the Bodleian Library’s Divinity School

Friday 8th July: Policy

Breakfast

With a special focus on HM Treasury’s Green Book supplement on wellbeing and cost-benefit analysis

Chaired by Nancy Hey (Director, What Works Wellbeing)

Panelists:
Nancy Hey (Director, What Works Wellbeing)
Amanda Rowlatt, CBE (Chair, Social Impacts Task Force)
Sara MacLennan (Economic Advisor, UK Government Economic Service, DEFRA)
Liz McKeown (Director of Public Policy Analysis, Office for National Statistics)
Jo Swinson (Director, Partners for a New Economy)

Break for coffee and refreshments

Lunch

Break for coffee and refreshments

Evening aperitifs and exclusive dinner at Balliol College

* The policy events are generously supported by the Victor Pinchuk Foundation