Measuring Multidimensional Wellbeing using the Gallup World Poll
Audience: Public Format: Hybrid
What might a truly global measure of wellbeing look like?
Tuesday, 16 June 2026, 4pm to 5pm
In this seminar, Sabina Alkire and Lhachi Selden will explore the construction of a multidimensional wellbeing index (MWI) for 144 countries using data from the Gallup World Poll, with the aim of examining what a truly global measure of wellbeing might look like.
Three trial MWIs are developed, alongside one multidimensional poverty index, and compared to assess how different choices of indicators shape country rankings and overall wellbeing outcomes. Their paper on this topic analyses patterns of sufficiency across indicators, the composition of wellbeing, and the extent to which rankings vary across the four approaches. It also compares the proposed MWIs with existing global measures, including the World Happiness Report rankings, the global Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI), and international monetary poverty measures, highlighting both overlaps and divergences in how wellbeing and poverty are captured across countries.
Speaker(s): Lhachi Selden (OPHI), Sabina Alkire (OPHI)
Venue:
Queen Elizabeth House - Meeting Room A
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Meeting Room A Queen Elizabeth House 3 Mansfield Road Oxford Oxfordshire OX1 3TB United Kingdom
Department: International Development (Department)
Host: Oxford Poverty and Human Development Initiative
Register here: https://zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_ykXzQMprQ4Ol6YkLd5TRvg