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With economic growth trending downward globally, many of the world's largest economies are not converting what growth they have left into an increase in well-being for their citizens, according to a report by the Boston Consulting Group. 

The SEDA, or Sustainable Economic Development Assessment ranks more than 160 countries across 10 areas including economic stability, health, governance and environment. It uses two measures, the first a current score taking into the most recent data and a rolling score that assesses how countries can convert economic growth into well-being over an eight year period from 2006 to 2014.

In Western Europe, countries with high current SEDA scores (Austria, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Netherlands) are making far better progress than those with low current SEDA scores (Cyprus, France, Greece, Italy, Malta, Portugal, Spain). This is especially reflected in the labor market, where above-average unemployment rates put pressure on the economy.

Regulations relating to environmental requirements, human rights and governance are all part of the EU mandate and it's not surprising that five EU countries (Poland, Lithuania, Slovenia, Romania, Croatia) and two on the path to joining (Serbia, Bosnia-Herzegovina) have posted higher than average SEDA sustainability scores.

Another link the report makes is the clear correlation between financial inclusion and well-being. Even when accounting for income, countries with higher access to financial services are more likely to have increased SEDA scores.

Source:

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-07-20/rich-countries-often-fail-to-bolster-well-being-boston-consulting-says

More:

https://www.bcgperspectives.com/content/articles/growth-globalization-private-sector-opportunity-improve-well-being-2016-economic-development-assessment/