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In the early game, private economy was superbly effective - within about 30-40 turns, I had private schools, hospitals, industry, sewers, and many other buildings - QOL was very high. New zones, however, invest very slowly - most of them are small, level II towns, but many have 4-5k private money, some much more (15-20k or more) - effect of my public help and stratagems. If they are building something, they build something useless, like farming domes, even though I am swimming in food by now.

How can I make them invest to improve QOL?

- You may still be thinking that QOL helps with happiness. It does not. You get some happiness while your Civilisation Level is increasing (catching up to QOL), but that is it. And civilsiation level has it's own downsides.
- If they got more then 1-2k without building they are most likely stuck on something or lack unemployed population to support anything else.
- They always prefer private food over emergency food, so they will always try to be at leas self-sufficient. If nothing else, they can sell the excess.

Why would you want to improve QOL? It serves no purpose on the game.

Unless you are role-playing. Then I suggest pumping money and people into the underdeveloped zones.

QOL impacts your population happiness.

If QOL is lower than civilization score your population gets unhappy, if it's higher they get happier.

ORIGINAL: Hazard151

QOL impacts your population happiness.

If QOL is lower than civilization score your population gets unhappy, if it's higher they get happier.

That is a very common missunderstanding.

In reality QOL is the Civilisation Level target.
While civilisation Level is increasing you get rising happiness, while it is decreasing you get lowering happiness. But both effects are temproary and will not make a happy population or a rebellion.

You might as well be comparing a slight tooth-ache to loosing a limb.

Workers will take a happiness malus if where they're working QOL is below the civilization standard. This may or may not be something you care about. Factions can also demand an increase to civilization level.

ORIGINAL: zgrssd
- You may still be thinking that QOL helps with happiness. It does not. You get some happiness while your Civilisation Level is increasing (catching up to QOL), but that is it. And civilsiation level has it's own downsides.

You contradict yourself in the first sentence right away. QOL helps with happiness, period. Your Civilisation Level (CL) should rise anyway (you want higher Bureaucratic Office levels (which need CL) to speed up to the higher techs (more powerful) before your competition), and the less distance between QOL and CL (or the zone-specific Score) the less unhappiness.
And do not forget any bonuses that you may have. Those mean your QOL *can* be above your CL permanently.

And what's the alternative? Having CL higher than QOL? That reduces happiness!

QOL is the only thing that increases pop happiness (apart from Feats and Stratagems), so you are imo misleading people and leading them down a path of being hesitant to build QOL assets which in fact would speed up their empire's power in general (economic, scientific etc.).
QOL is even important for elections. Rising it keeps your Faction in power.

Also, you're going to conquer cities and those may have higher QOL already present. What are you going to do then? Your only course of action is raising your QOL in your other cities. I mean, maybe you could force your CL down eventually by nationalizing Private QOL assets in the new city and closing them down but man.. I wouldn't try that, seem to me to be a recipe for a very long period of unhappiness.