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Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 2012. The Subjective Well-Being Module of the American Time Use Survey: Assessment for Its Continuation. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/13535.
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The Subjective Well-Being Module of the American Time Use
Survey: Assessment for Its Continuation

Panel on Measuring Subjective Well-Being in a Policy-Relevant Framework

Committee on National Statistics
Division of Behavioral and Social Sciences and Education

NATIONAL RESEARCH COUNCIL
OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMIES

THE NATIONAL ACADEMIES PRESS
Washington, D.C.
www.nap.edu

Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 2012. The Subjective Well-Being Module of the American Time Use Survey: Assessment for Its Continuation. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/13535.
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THE NATIONAL ACADEMIES PRESS   500 Fifth Street, NW   Washington, DC 20001

NOTICE: The project that is the subject of this report was approved by the Governing Board of the National Research Council, whose members are drawn from the councils of the National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Engineering, and the Institute of Medicine. The members of the committee responsible for the report were chosen for their special competences and with regard for appropriate balance.

This study was supported by Task Order No. N01-OD-42139 between the U.S. National Institutes of Health and the National Academy of Sciences, and award ID# 10000592 between the U.K. Economic and Social Research Council and the National Academy of Sciences. Support for the Committee on National Statistics is provided by a consortium of federal agencies through a grant from the National Science Foundation (award number SES-1024012). Any opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this publication are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the organizations or agencies that provided support for the project.

International Standard Book Number-13: 978-0-309-26661-1

International Standard Book Number-10: 0-309-26661-0

Additional copies of this report are available from the National Academies Press, 500 Fifth Street, NW, Keck 360, Washington, DC 20001; (800) 624-6242 or (202) 334-3313; http://www.nap.edu.

Copyright 2012 by the National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved.

Printed in the United States of America

Suggested citation: National Research Council (2012). The Subjective Well-Being Module of the American Time Use Survey: Assessment for Its Continuation. Panel on Measuring Subjective Well-Being in a Policy-Relevant Framework. Committee on National Statistics, Division of Behavioral and Social Sciences and Education. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press.

Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 2012. The Subjective Well-Being Module of the American Time Use Survey: Assessment for Its Continuation. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/13535.
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THE NATIONAL ACADEMIES

Advisers to the Nation on Science, Engineering and Medicine

The National Academy of Sciences is a private, nonprofit, self-perpetuating society of distinguished scholars engaged in scientific and engineering research, dedicated to the furtherance of science and technology and to their use for the general welfare. Upon the authority of the charter granted to it by the Congress in 1863, the Academy has a mandate that requires it to advise the federal government on scientific and technical matters. Dr. Ralph J. Cicerone is president of the National Academy of Sciences.

The National Academy of Engineering was established in 1964, under the charter of the National Academy of Sciences, as a parallel organization of outstanding engineers. It is autonomous in its administration and in the selection of its members, sharing with the National Academy of Sciences the responsibility for advising the federal government. The National Academy of Engineering also sponsors engineering programs aimed at meeting national needs, encourages education and research, and recognizes the superior achievements of engineers. Dr. Charles M. Vest is president of the National Academy of Engineering.

The Institute of Medicine was established in 1970 by the National Academy of Sciences to secure the services of eminent members of appropriate professions in the examination of policy matters pertaining to the health of the public. The Institute acts under the responsibility given to the National Academy of Sciences by its congressional charter to be an adviser to the federal government and, upon its own initiative, to identify issues of medical care, research, and education. Dr. Harvey V. Fineberg is president of the Institute of Medicine.

The National Research Council was organized by the National Academy of Sciences in 1916 to associate the broad community of science and technology with the Academy’s purposes of furthering knowledge and advising the federal government. Functioning in accordance with general policies determined by the Academy, the Council has become the principal operating agency of both the National Academy of Sciences and the National Academy of Engineering in providing services to the government, the public, and the scientific and engineering communities. The Council is administered jointly by both Academies and the Institute of Medicine. Dr. Ralph J. Cicerone and Dr. Charles M. Vest are chair and vice chair, respectively, of the National Research Council.

www.national-academies.org

Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 2012. The Subjective Well-Being Module of the American Time Use Survey: Assessment for Its Continuation. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/13535.
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Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 2012. The Subjective Well-Being Module of the American Time Use Survey: Assessment for Its Continuation. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/13535.
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Panel on Measuring Subjective Well-Being in a Policy-Relevant Framework

ARTHUR A. STONE (Chair), Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Stony Brook University

NORMAN M. BRADBURN, Department of Psychology, University of Chicago

LAURA L. CARSTENSEN, Department of Psychology, Stanford University

EDWARD F. DIENER, Department of Psychology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

PAUL H. DOLAN, Department of Social Policy, London School of Economics and Political Science

CAROL L. GRAHAM, The Brookings Institution, Washington, DC

V. JOSEPH HOTZ, Department of Economics, Duke University

DANIEL KAHNEMAN, Woodrow Wilson School, Princeton University

ARIE KAPTEYN, The RAND Corporation, Santa Monica, CA

AMANDA SACKER, Institute for Social and Economic Research, University of Essex, United Kingdom

NORBERT SCHWARZ, Department of Psychology, University of Michigan

JUSTIN WOLFERS, Business Economics and Public Policy Department, The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania

CHRISTOPHER MACKIE, Study Director

ANTHONY S. MANN, Program Associate

Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 2012. The Subjective Well-Being Module of the American Time Use Survey: Assessment for Its Continuation. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/13535.
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Committee on National Statistics 2012-2013

LAWRENCE D. BROWN (Chair), Department of Statistics, The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania

JOHN M. ABOWD, School of Industrial and Labor Relations, Cornell University

DAVID CARD, Department of Economics, University of California, Berkeley

ALICIA CARRIQUIRY, Department of Statistics, Iowa State University

CONSTANTINE GATSONIS, Center for Statistical Sciences, Brown University

JAMES S. HOUSE, Survey Research Center, Institute for Social Research, University of Michigan

MICHAEL HOUT, Survey Research Center, University of California, Berkeley

SALLIE ANN KELLER, University of Waterloo, Ontario, Canada

LISA LYNCH, The Heller School for Social Policy and Management, Brandeis University

SALLIE C. MORTON, Department of Biostatistics, Graduate School of Public Health, University of Pittsburgh

RUTH D. PETERSON, Criminal Justice Research Center, The Ohio State University

EDWARD H. SHORTLIFFE, Columbia University and Arizona State University

HAL STERN, Donald Bren School of Information and Computer Sciences, University of California, Irvine

JOHN H. THOMPSON, National Opinion Research Center, University of Chicago

ROGER TOURANGEAU, Westat, Rockville, MD

CONSTANCE F. CITRO, Director

Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 2012. The Subjective Well-Being Module of the American Time Use Survey: Assessment for Its Continuation. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/13535.
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Acknowledgments

This report has been reviewed in draft form by individuals chosen for their diverse perspectives and technical expertise, in accordance with procedures approved by the Report Review Committee of the National Research Council. The purpose of this independent review is to provide candid and critical comments that assist the institution in making its reports as sound as possible, and to ensure that the reports meet institutional standards for objectivity, evidence, and responsiveness to the study charge. The review comments and draft manuscript remain confidential to protect the integrity of the deliberative process.

The panel thanks the following individuals for their review of the interim report: Daniel S. Hamermesh, Department of Economics, The University of Texas; Richard E. Lucas, Department of Psychology, Michigan State University; Robert D. Putnam, Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University; Dylan Smith, Associate Professor, Center for Medical Humanities, Compassionate Care and Bioethics, Stony Brook University Medical Center; Frank Stafford, Department of Economics, University of Michigan; and Roger Tourangeau, Westat, Inc., Rockville, MD.

Although the reviewers listed above have provided many constructive comments and suggestions, they were not asked to endorse the conclusions or recommendations, nor did they see the final draft of the report before its release. The review of the report was overseen by Edward Perrin (retired), Department of Health Services, University of Washington. Appointed by the National Research Council, he was responsible for making certain that the independent examination of this report was carried out in accordance with institutional procedures and that all review comments were carefully considered. Responsibility for the final content of the report rests entirely with the authoring panel and the National Research Council.

The panel would also like to thank Rachel Krantz-Kent, an economist in the Division of Labor Force Statistics at the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, who attended the panel’s first meeting and presented a very informative overview of the American Time Use Survey.

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The American Time Use Survey (ATUS), conducted by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, included a subjective well-being (SWB) module in 2010 and 2012. The module, funded by the National Institute on Aging (NIA), is being considered for inclusion in the ATUS for 2013. The National Research Council was asked to evaluate measures of self-reported well-being and offer guidance about their adoption in official government surveys. The charge for the study included an interim report to consider the usefulness of the ATUS SWB module, specifically the value of continuing it for at least one more wave. Among the key points raised in this report are the value, methodological benefits, and cost and effects on the ATUS and new opportunities.

Research on subjective or self-reported well-being has been ongoing for several decades, with the past few years seeing an increased interest by some countries in using SWB measures to evaluate government policies and provide a broader assessment of the health of a society than is provided by such standard economic measures as gross domestic product. NIA asked the panel to prepare an interim report on the usefulness of the SWB module of the ATUS, with a view as to the utility of continuing the module in 2013.

The Subjective Well-Being Module of the American Time Use Survey is intended to fulfill only one narrow aspect of the panel's broader task. It provides an overview of the ATUS and the SWB module, a brief discussion of research applications to date, and a preliminary assessment of the value of SWB module data. The panel's final report will address issues of whether research has advanced to the point that SWB measures-and which kinds of measures-should be regularly included in major surveys of official statistical agencies to help inform government economic and social policies.

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