On the Measurement of Welfare

The author believes in the measurability of welfare (also called satisfaction or utility). Measure- ments have been made in the United States (Jorgenson and collaborators), France (Allais), and the Netherlands (Van Praag and collaborators). The Israeli sociologists Levy and Guttman have shown that numerous noneconomic variables are among the determinants of welfare. The determinants are numerous; the author proposes a list of about fifty. Various mathematical functions have been proposed, of which the logarithm of the determinants shows the highest correlation with welfare, as measured.