The investment game, Inflation and the cost of goods.

[Jakensama]

I was thinking more like industrial pollution though. There are surely places in India where even the Indians can't drink the water because if the raw sewage doesn't kill you, the runoff from the fertilizer plant and paper factory will. Clean water might not make you feel rich but I would think that polluted water would make you feel poor (in a "rich people don't have to put up with this" sort of way).

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The birth defects dont help either.

Maybe personal space isn't so much a "quality of life" issue but I bet just about every culture would consider you to be richer the more personal space you have. e.g., shack vs mansion, stretch limo vs public bus, big office vs tiny cube. It may not impact your quality of life in the sense that you live longer but I imagine there would be a perception that your QOL is better than someone who is the same as you but has half as much space.

I'm sure most people prefer those things, but in many cultures its more of a luxury thing than some basic litmus test for quality of life. Its just not as important to every culture to really be placed on a list with other basic universal biological needs like sanitation and clean food/water. Nor with exploding populations is it something many societies can really ensure for future generations.

Its definately valued more in the US than here and in Japan its even more of a luxury than something needed for a good life.