As South Africa celebrates Women’s Month, Professor Talita Greyling from the University of Johannesburg’s School of Economics is recognised as a trailblazer in well-being economics. Initially drawn to economics by her passion for data analysis, mathematics, and statistics, Prof Greyling shifted her focus to well-being economics after witnessing the severe poverty faced by HIV-affected children.
“I saw firsthand the heartbreaking conditions these children endured, especially the infants. This experience stirred something within me, compelling me to use my skills as an economist to make a meaningful difference in people’s lives,” she explained.
Well-being economics, a field that emerged in the late 1970s, focuses on measuring quality of life. Prof Greyling emphasises its importance: “Measuring well-being is crucial because it directly reflects the quality of life, a core promise in most constitutions. How can we know if we are improving people’s lives if we do not measure?”
Her groundbreaking research, including the Gross National Happiness.today project (GNH.today), uses Big Data and machine learning to assess global well-being in real-time. Prof Greyling continuously innovates to overcome challenges like data source dependency, ensuring robust and diverse data collection methods.
Global Impact: Awards, collaborations, and leadership
This year, she was honoured with the International Society for Quality-of-Life Studies Research Fellow Award, becoming only the second African scholar to receive this recognition. She also secured a seeding grant from the UKinSPIRE fund for a cross-cultural project on community well-being. Additionally, Prof Greyling was appointed to the World Wellbeing Panel, making her the first African scholar to join this prestigious group.
Beyond her research, Prof Greyling serves as Vice-President (Membership) of the International Society of Quality-of-Life Studies and co-editor of the Journal of Happiness Studies. She is also a strong advocate for women in STEM, emphasizing their critical role in addressing poverty and inequality: “Women bring a unique emotional connection to well-being research, which is invaluable in understanding and improving people’s lives. I encourage any young woman to pursue STEM, knowing their contributions are essential to creating a better, more equitable world.”
To learn more about Prof. Greyling’s work, visit GNH.today.
