Committee deliberations were informed by 13 excellent staff memos—expertly overseen by Thomas Laubach of the Federal Reserve Board, with the support of Jeff Fuhrer of the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston, Marc Giannoni of the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas, and David Altig of the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta—as well as 7 outstanding papers and responses by leading outside experts.
Lastly, as countries try to estimate well-being indicators in various ways, we have to continue the research on how to increase the relevance of these indicators for policy makers. Although quality of life measures have the advantage of showing various aspects of life, they have a number of weaknesses as policy tools.