--- canonical_url: "https://csls.ca/research/preliminary-estimates-of-good-life-time-glt-in-canada-using-the-general-social-survey/" title: "Preliminary Estimates of Good Life Time (GLT) in Canada Using the General Social Survey" author: name: "CSLS" url: "https://csls.ca/author/cslc/" date_published: "2026-07-02T12:52:44+00:00" date_modified: "2026-07-02T12:52:44+00:00" post_type: "research" summary: "" post_tag: - "Canada" - "General Social Survey" - "GLT" - "Good Life Time" - "health" - "income" - "life expectancy" - "microsimulation" - "well-being" country_focus: - "Canada" province_region: - "National" research_theme: - "Economic Well-Being" - "Productivity and Economic Measurement" featured_image: "https://csls.ca/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/old-reports_hero_banner_bg.webp" status: "publish" --- # Preliminary Estimates of Good Life Time (GLT) in Canada Using the General Social Survey Canonical URL: https://csls.ca/research/preliminary-estimates-of-good-life-time-glt-in-canada-using-the-general-social-survey/ # Preliminary Estimates of Good Life Time (GLT) in Canada Using the General Social Survey [Download full PDF report](https://csls.ca/pdf/csls2015-14-1.pdf) Cite this report × Cite this report as: Wolfson, Michael, and Kar-Fai Gee. 2015. “Preliminary Estimates of Good Life Time (GLT) in Canada Using the General Social Survey.” CSLS Research Report 2015-14. Ottawa: Centre for the Study of Living Standards. https://csls.ca/research/preliminary-estimates-of-good-life-time-glt-in-canada-using-the-general-social-survey/ ## Authors: - Michael Wolfson Centre for the Study of Living Standards (CSLS) - Kar-Fai Gee Centre for the Study of Living Standards (CSLS) ## Report 2015-14 September 2015 47 pages ## Related research [Measuring the Appropriate Outcomes for Better Decision-Making: A Framework to Guide the Analysis of Health Policy Matthew Calver March 2016 | Report 2016-03 | 132 pages](https://csls.ca/research/measuring-the-appropriate-outcomes-for-better-decision-making-a-framework-to-guide-the-analysis-of-health-policy-2016-03/) [Living Standards Domain of the Canadian Index of Wellbeing Andrew Sharpe, Christopher Ross November 2011 | Report 2011-17 | 124 pages](https://csls.ca/research/living-standards-domain-of-the-canadian-index-of-wellbeing-2011-17/) [Closing the First Nations Education Gap in Canada: Assessing Progress and Estimating the Economic Benefits — An Update Centre for the Study of Living Standards (CSLS) February 2023 | Report 2023-01 | 101 pages](https://csls.ca/research/closing-the-first-nations-education-gap-in-canada-assessing-progress-and-estimating-the-economic-benefits-an-update-2023-01/) [Productivity: Key to Economic Success Centre for the Study of Living Standards (CSLS) March 1998 | Report 1998-01 | 99 pages](https://csls.ca/research/productivity-key-to-economic-success/) [Apprenticeship in Canada: A Training System Under Siege? 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In this context, Wolfson and Rowe (2010) have proposed Good Life Time (GLT) as an alternative / complement to traditional economic measures. GLT is based on a generalization of life expectancy and a person is said to be in GLT if they have adequate amounts of health, money, and the time to enjoy them. In this study, we develop a simple approach using public microdata from the 1992, 1998, 2005, and 2010 General Social Surveys. We conclude that issues related to high item non-response rates and lack of time series consistency in many of the key questionnaire items, especially in the money and health domains, likely overwhelm any time series trends obtained in this manner. Microsimulation or synthetic matching are therefore the recommended methods to obtain time series trends of GLT. Un regain d’intérêt récent s’est manifesté pour des mesures du progrès social et du bien-être allant au-delà des mesures classiques du Système de comptabilité nationale, notamment le PIB et le PIB par habitant. Dans ce contexte, Wolfson et Rowe (2010) ont proposé le concept de « temps de vie de qualité » (Good Life Time, ou GLT) comme solution de rechange ou complément aux mesures économiques traditionnelles. Le GLT repose sur une généralisation de l’espérance de vie, une personne étant considérée comme étant en GLT si elle dispose d’un niveau adéquat de santé, d’argent et de temps pour en profiter. Dans cette étude, nous élaborons une approche simple à l’aide de microdonnées publiques tirées des Enquêtes sociales générales de 1992, 1998, 2005 et 2010. Nous concluons que les problèmes liés aux taux élevés de non-réponse partielle et au manque de cohérence des séries chronologiques pour bon nombre des questions clés du questionnaire, particulièrement dans les domaines de l’argent et de la santé, l’emportent vraisemblablement sur toute tendance chronologique obtenue de cette manière. La microsimulation ou l’appariement synthétique sont donc les méthodes recommandées pour obtenir des tendances chronologiques du GLT. [Download full PDF report](https://csls.ca/pdf/csls2015-14-1.pdf)