Economists are usually a lot more concerned about how an economy is doing than how the people in it are doing.
But there is a branch of econometrics that focuses on the well-being of populations rather than the quarterly meanderings of somewhat abstract concepts like gross domestic product. One source of such data is the OECD, often referred to as a think tank focusing on economic policy for rich countries. A fresh report out this morning attempts to answer the the basic question “How’s life?” for people in different populations. It’s chock-a-block with interesting tidbits, as well as a fair number of fascinating charts. Here are just a few that lay out some of the remarkable distinctions between the world’s developed economies.
