Well-being indices list necessary components but rarely specify sufficiency.

Evidence

Dasgupta (2001, 54) illustrates the connection between minimal conceptualizations, necessary conditions, and the lack of sufficiency: “A minimal set of indices for spanning a reasonable conception of current well-being in a poor country includes private consumption per head, life expectancy at birth, literacy, and civil and political liberties. Private consumption is food, shelter, clothing, and basic legal aid. Life expectancy at birth is the best indicator of health, while literacy of basic primary education. Civil and political rights allow people to function independently of the state and their communities. Each of these is necessary. They cannot be reduced to some one item or replaced by a monetary value, for they may be undervalued by the market.” This is very typical in that there is clearly a set of minimal necessary conditions, but rarely does the author address the sufficiency question, which is absolutely necessary if one is actually going to code, categorize, or measure well-being. — Gary Goertz, Social Science Concepts and Measurement, 434

Categorization

• DEFINE: Concretizes the minimal-definition idea with a specific four-indicator well-being checklist (consumption, life expectancy, literacy, liberties) and its explicitly necessary-only status.
• SHARE: A good tidbit for someone working on development or human-wellbeing measurement.