CPB is an independent fiscal institute in the Netherlands founded in 1945 to provide impartial policy analysis. It produces short and long-term economic forecasts and assesses major policies. CPB has launched a wellbeing program to help the government steer policies toward multiple dimensions of wellbeing beyond economic impacts. The program will develop a set of key wellbeing indicators covering themes like material living standards, health, education, and the environment. It will quantify the level of factors like human capital and poverty in the population and the impact of policies over time. CPB is collaborating with other institutes to align on international standards and share evidence on methodologies to measure policy impacts on people's wellbeing.

1. Wellbeingas policy
objective:
Ambitionsof the
Netherlands
Stefan Thewissen
28June2022
s.h.thewissen@cpb.nl

2. Outline
2
1. IntroductionCPB
2. Ourwellbeingprogramme
3. Exploringcollaboration

3. 1. Introduction
CPB

4. CPB: A long tradition
4
● Founded in 1945 by Jan Tinbergen
● Objective: “to be an effective
provider of input for evidence
-
based policy making in this
changing society, while being
impartial, independent, policy
relevant and academically sound”

5. CPB as Independent Fiscal Institute (1)
5
● Short- & longer
-term forecasts
● Fiscal sustainability
● Assessment economic impact of major budget packages, reforms, and party
manifestos:
● Demanded and unsolicited policy analysis

6. CPB as Independent Fiscal Institute (2)
6
● OECD:
“The CPB stands out as an institution that has over the decades becom
fully
integrated
into the policy
-making process while retaining a solid reputation for
professionalism
andimpartialityin its analysis.”
● IMF: “The CPB occupies a unique position in fiscal policy making in the Nethe
In such a situation, its
independence
andcredibility
are essential, and the IMF
-mission
fully supports the continuation of the current institutional set up.”

7. 2. Our wellbeing
programme

8. Wellbeing as policy objective
8
● Beyond direct &
averagefinancial
-economiceffects
● Followinginternationalstandards(Stiglitzet al., CES
framework):
o Multiple themes on economic, social and environmental domains
o Multiple dimensions:
● Later (capital stocks)
● Inequality
● Elsewhere

9. Objective
and result
9
● Helpingour gov’t to steerits policiestowardswellbeing
, by offering (1)
instruments &(2) analyses
● Dedicated programme

10. Set of
keyindicators:NLDas a pioneer(1)
10
Facilitatingembeddingwellbeingin budgetcycle:
● Ex
-ante & forward
-lookingpolicyevaluation
● Limited set of indicators
that coverthe themes& dimensions
● Annualpublicationlinkedto budgetcycle

11. Set of
keyindicators:NLDas a pioneer(2)
11
Requires
development:
● Stepwiseimplementation2021
-2026
● In collaborationwith the two otherindependent policy
institutes
● CPB in lead:
o Material wellbeing
o Economic capital (capital stocks)

12. Example
1:Human capitalindicator
12
● Objective
: quantifying(1)the level of human capital (knowledge and skills) of
the Dutch population & (2) the impact of policy
● Drawingfrom internationalstandards
o Life-time income approach used in wealth
accounting
(OECD, World Bank, CES)
● Linking its parameters to policyestimates from the literature
● Exploring alternative models

13. Example
2:Povertyindicator
13
● Objective
: quantifying(1)the level of material poverty of the Dutch
population & (2) the impact of policy
● Through awellbeinglens
o Adjusted more ‘generous’budget
o Income and possibly consumption
o Possibly inflation

14. Additional
projects
14
● Social cost
-benefit analysis
● Wealth accounting
● Literaturestudyon broaderbenefitsandcostsof policies

15. 3. Exploring
collaboration

16. International
collaboration
16
● Learnfrom eachother
● Aligning
: settinginternationalstandards
● Evidence
:
o Quantifying impacts of policies on people’s wellbeing (education; poverty)
o Literature study on broad gains and costs of policies
o Methodologies (incl. social cost-benefit analysis)
● Fiscal sustainability through a wellbeing lens

17. www.cpb.nl | @
CPBnl
Centraal
Planbureau