Thomas Healy

A Thesis submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of
Doctor of Philosophy at the National University of Ireland

Supervisors: Professor Colm Harmon and Professor Stephen Mennell
Department of Sociology, Faculty of Human Sciences, University College Dublin

February 2005

Abstract

This study is about the nature of human well-being and agency. It considers and contrasts various notions of well-being and relates them to various types of human capability, including human capital and social capital. Part A develops a conceptual framework that integrates various notions of well-being and capital under the concept of human capabilities – the capacity to live the good life as valued by the human agent. A number of tensions and unresolved conflicts are identified with respect to the use and understanding of well-being. The evidence relating to those factors that impact on well-being in the specific cultural context of Ireland will be considered in Part B drawing on one
particular cross-sectional data source – the NESF Survey of Social Capital (2002). The analysis of data suggests that some empirical measures of informal social ties and reciprocity are highly associated with subjective well-being. The impacts of marital status, income and unemployment, described in the literature on well-being, are also confirmed in this analysis. However, caution is needed in drawing any general conclusions with respect to ‘social capital’ and its impact on human well-being more generally. In Part C, I explore the relevance of both the conceptual framework (Part A) and the supporting empirical research (Part B) for different areas of practice – personal development, families, organisational change and governmental action. In conclusion, I outline a number of challenges for the development of social dialogue around norms and public interests as well as research grounded in community experience to support well-being.

Information on the author

Tom Healy is Research Associate at the Policy Institute, Trinity College Dublin and member of the ‘Governance Research Group’ at the Geary Institute, UCD. Research interests refer to the impacts of informal learning, social networks and civic norms on personal well-being and their relevance to public policy and community practice.

Related works

• Healy, Tom with Dr Maria Slowey of DCU 'Social exclusion and adult engagement
in lifelong learning - some comparative implications for European states based
on Ireland's Celtic Tiger experience' - forthcoming.

• Healy, Tom, 'Social Capital: An educational panacea or a challenge to the way
we do policy?' forthcoming in the European Educational Research Journal.

• Healy, Tom, ‘The Level and Distribution of Social Capital in Ireland’ forthcoming in the Journal of the Statistical and Social Inquiry Society of Ireland.

• Healy, Tom, ‘Social Capital and Well-Being in Ireland’ presented at the Annual Conference of Religious in Ireland Conference on Social Policy, 4 October 2005 and published, by CORI, in ‘Securing Fairness and well-being in a land of plenty’.

• Healy, Tom, ‘Re-thinking Public Policy: The Role of Social Capital’ in Perspectives on Community Development in Ireland, Cross-Border Centre for Community Development, Volume 1, No. 1, 2005.

• Healy, Tom, PASCAL International Observatory Learning Regions, Social Capital and Place (May 2005 ‘Hot Topic’ article) ‘Social Capital and Educational Policy: Serious Issues from an Imaginary Conversation with a Minister’ – this paper posed the deceptively simple question: if social capital is such a good idea, what can be done to build it? A number of differing approaches on the relevance of social capital to public policy are discussed. The relationship between theory and practice is evaluated. Also published by the National Institute of Adult Continuing Education (NIACE / UK) in ‘Rebalancing the social and economic: Learning, partnership and place’ edited by Chris Duke, Mike Osborne and Bruce Wilson (2005).

• Healy, Tom, ‘Social Capital: Hold Hat or New Insight?’ in the Irish Journal of Sociology, Volume 13, No. 1, 2004.

• Healy, Tom, ‘Social Capital: Some policy and research implications in New Zealand’, Institute of Policy Studies, Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand. (2004)

• Healy, Tom, ‘The Measurement of Social Capital at International Level’. Paper presented at an International Conference on the measurement of social capital organised by OECD and the UK Office of National Statistics in London on 25-27 September, 2002.

• Healy, Tom, The Policy Implications of Social Capital, National Economic and Social Forum, Dublin, Report No. 28. (2003)

• Healy, Tom, ‘From Human to Social Capital’ in T. Schuller, D. Istance and H. Scheutze (eds.) Towards the Learning Society, Open University Press (2002)

• Healy, Tom, ’Social Capital and Lifelong Learning’ in Lifelong Learning in Europe, (LlinE, Vol. VI, 2002).

• Healy, Tom, ‘In Each Other’s Shadow’, in Is the Future My Responsibility?, Céifin Institute, Veritas, 2002, Dublin.

• Healy, Tom with Sylvain Cote: The Well-Being of Nations: The role of human and
social capital, OECD, (2001).

• Healy, Tom with David Istance 'International Equity Indicators in Education
and Learning: Some Recent Results and Avenues for the Future' (with D. Istance)
in In Pursuit of Equity in Education: Using International Indicators to Compare
Equity Policies, (eds. Hutmacher, Cochrane and Bottani), Klewer. (2001).

• Healy, Tom, ‘New Patterns of Learning and Earnings’ (with A. Wagner and T. Smith), European Journal of Education, vol. 35, Number 1, March (2000).

• Healy, Tom with Alan Wagner and Thomas Smith 'The impact of human capital on
economic growth', Economics of Education and New Public Management. (2001)

• Healy, Tom, ‘Cost-benefit Analysis in Education Projects: Internal Rates of Return, Methodologies and Theoretical Objections’ in The Appraisal of Investments in Educational Facilities, OECD and European Investment Bank. (2000).

• Healy, Tom, Human Capital Investment: An International Comparison, OECD. (1998).
‘Lifelong Learning for all: International experience and comparison’, Lifelong Learning in Europe (LlinE, vol. III, 1997).