This volume argues that the virtues of the market system, private property, and freedom of exchange can be applied to enhance the quality of life. Although people recognize in the abstract that markets work better than government in allocating resources, government's presence in the economy increases as government intervenes to deal with different problems. This book shows how the market mechanism that has enhanced material well-being is better suited than government planning to improve the quality of life. After examining general principles guiding both market and government allocation of resources, the book then examines specific policy issues, including environmental protection, health care, regulation of product quality, and land use planning. The book first examines the general principles that guide both market and government allocation of resources to show why market mechanisms work better than government planning to enhance the quality of life. Then specific policy issues are examined to provide examples of how market forces can be harnessed to improve the quality of life. Some of those issues are environmental protection, health care, the regulation of product quality, and land use planning.

This book analyzes how quality of life research results can be transferred to policy making, and considers the role of actors in this process---researchers, policy makers, and citizens---as well as their interrelationships. This book points to the need to include actors other than the state in public policy-making related to quality of life and well-being issues, in defining problems and formulating alternatives. It identifies obstacles and facilitators in the process and offers a review of different types of aid that affect well-being and quality of life. Finally, it shows possible pathways for various stakeholders in policy-making to interact with one another in the building of good societies.

This book is a useful "how to" book for researchers and government offices wanting to start or improve their own QOL survey, and contains "best practices" from all over the world. It is a valuable resource for researchers, policy and for those wishing to effect changes in public policy.

In the last two decades of the 20th century, we witnessed a dramatic growth in social inequalities within and among countries. This has had a most negative impact on the health and quality of life of large sectors of the populations in the developed and underdeveloped world. This volume analyzes the reasons for this increase in inequalities and its consequences for the well-being of populations. Scholars from a variety of disciplines and countries analyze the different dimensions of this topic.

The United States is among the wealthiest nations in the world, but it is far from the healthiest. Although life expectancy and survival rates in the United States have improved dramatically over the past century, Americans live shorter lives and experience more injuries and illnesses than people in other high-income countries. The U.S. health disadvantage cannot be attributed solely to the adverse health status of racial or ethnic minorities or poor people: even highly advantaged Americans are in worse health than their counterparts in other, "peer" countries. In light of the new and growing evidence about the U.S. health disadvantage, the National Institutes of Health asked the National Research Council (NRC) and the Institute of Medicine (IOM) to convene a panel of experts to study the issue. The Panel on Understanding Cross-National Health Differences Among High-Income Countries examined whether the U.S. health disadvantage exists across the life span, considered potential explanations, and assessed the larger implications of the findings. U.S. Health in International Perspective presents detailed evidence on the issue, explores the possible explanations for the shorter and less healthy lives of Americans than those of people in comparable countries, and recommends actions by both government and nongovernment agencies and organizations to address the U.S. health disadvantage.

In the Indian context; contributed articles.