Capability Approach and Multidimensional Well-Being: The Italian Case of BES

This paper lies within the debate on GDP and beyond and provides an empirical assessment of the Italian equitable and sustainable well-being (BES) as a composite measure of multidimensional well-being. From a policy perspective, the goal is to deliver a reading of the Italian BES able to shed light on its usability. The aim is to offer a suitable method for making the information included in the BES more viable for policy design. To this end, the paper is grounded in an interpretation of the Italian BES through the lens of the capability approach and investigates the relations among BES indicators and life domains. The empirical assessment uses Italian data from the national survey “Aspects of daily life” and applies the Structural Equation Model to estimate several life capabilities and their causal path. Outcomes show the interrelated nature of multi-dimensional well-being and prove the role of exogenous causes in the determination of capabilities. Moreover, the paper provides a final ranking analysis where Italian regions are compared based on their position per capability and income performance. Results confirm, on one hand, the disparity of income and well-being measurements and the importance of multidimensional assessment for human development and, on the other, the importance of focusing on the single components of multidimensional well-being and their interconnections.