COMMENT | On May 30, 2019, New Zealand surprised the world with the world’s first Wellbeing Budget.

“But aren’t all national budgets supposed to revolve around the concept of people’s wellbeing?” We could rightfully exclaim. Our national plans, budgets and blueprints are also never short on using or even overusing this term.

Indeed, the budget is the main reference point in agreeing on how scarce national resources are spent to preserve, develop, and enhance human lives and wellbeing in the context of intergenerational continuity.

And indeed, New Zealand was not a pioneer to underscore the positioning of people’s wellbeing at the heart of national policymaking - France, Sweden, European Union, Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development and others advanced similar ideas earlier.

However, what really deserves the very full attention of all the nations, especially in the context of post-pandemic recovery, is...