Gross national happiness

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The concept of gross national happiness (GNH) is an attempt to define quality of life in more holistic and psychological terms than gross national product.

The term was coined in 1972 by Bhutan's former King Jigme Singye Wangchuck, who has opened up Bhutan to the age of modernization, soon after the demise of his father, King Jigme Dorji Wangchuk. It signaled his commitment to building an economy that would serve Bhutan's unique culture based on Buddhist spiritual values. Like many moral goals, it is somewhat easier to state than to define. Nonetheless, it serves as a unifying vision for Bhutan's five-year planning process and all the derived planning documents that guide the economic and development plans of the country.

While conventional development models stress economic growth as the ultimate objective, the concept of GNH claims to be based on the premise that true development of human society takes place when material and spiritual development occur side by side to complement and reinforce each other. The four pillars of GNH are the promotion of sustainable development, preservation and promotion of cultural values, conservation of the natural environment, and establishment of good governance.

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[edit] Qualitative and quantitative indicators

There is no exact quantitative definition of GNH.[1]

GNH, like the Genuine Progress Indicator, refers to the concept of a quantitative measurement of well-being and happiness. The two measures are both motivated by the notion that subjective measures like well-being are more relevant and important than more objective measures like consumption. It is not measured directly, but only the factors which are believed to lead to it.

According to Daniel Kahneman, a Princeton University psychologist, happiness can be measured using the day reconstruction method, which consists in recollecting memories of the previous working day by writing a short diary.[2]

A second-generation GNH concept, treating happiness as a socioeconomic development metric, was proposed in 2006 by Med Yones, the President of International Institute of Management. The metric measures socioeconomic development by tracking 7 development area including the nation's mental and emotional health.[3] GNH value is proposed to be an index function of the total average per capita of the following measures:

  1. Economic Wellness: Indicated via direct survey and statistical measurement of economic metrics such as consumer debt, average income to consumer price index ratio and income distribution
  2. Environmental Wellness: Indicated via direct survey and statistical measurement of environmental metrics such as pollution, noise and traffic
  3. Physical Wellness: Indicated via statistical measurement of physical health metrics such as severe illnesses
  4. Mental Wellness: Indicated via direct survey and statistical measurement of mental health metrics such as usage of antidepressants and rise or decline of psychotherapy patients
  5. Workplace Wellness: Indicated via direct survey and statistical measurement of labor metrics such as jobless claims, job change, workplace complaints and lawsuits
  6. Social Wellness: Indicated via direct survey and statistical measurement of social metrics such as discrimination, safety, divorce rates, complaints of domestic conflicts and family lawsuits, public lawsuits, crime rates
  7. Political Wellness: Indicated via direct survey and statistical measurement of political metrics such as the quality of local democracy, individual freedom, and foreign conflicts.

The above 7 metrics were incorporated into the first Global GNH Survey.[4]

Ed Diener, a psychologist from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, has developed a scale referred to as subjective well-being, a concept related to happiness and quality of life, which has been used to compare nations to each other on this construct [5]. This study found that "high income, individualism, human rights, and social equality correlated strongly with each other, and with SWB" (p. 851, abstract).

[edit] GNH conferences

The 3rd International Conference on Gross National Happiness Towards Global Transformation: WORLD VIEWS MAKE A DIFFERENCE offered an opportunity to articulate Asian world views towards transformation in a 'message to the world'. It took place in Nong Khai and Bangkok, Thailand between 22 and 28 November 2007.

Implying the transition from a natural to modernized state, the 3rd International Conference on Gross National Happiness (GNH 3) took place in two locations: the first three days took place in rural north-eastern province of Nong Khai and the last three days in the urban campus of Chulalongkorn University in central Bangkok, Thailand. The organizers planned all activities so that participants were able to explore a large variety of venues, presentation and discussion formats and draw on the great variety and talents of the entire group of 800 participants who registered.

Main co-organizers were the Sathirakoses Nagapradipa Foundation (Thailand), The Center for Bhutan Studies, while local NGOs, progressive business group Social Venture Network and the government of Thailand in particular The Ministry of Social Development and Human Security, Thailand, have formed a support network together with research agencies and other government departments like the Thai Health Promotion Foundation.

"Rethinking Development: Local Pathways to Global Wellbeing", the Second International Conference on Gross National Happiness was held in Antigonish, Nova Scotia June 20–24, 2005, co-hosted by Genuine Progress Index Atlantic (proceedings online); the Coady International Institute; Shambhala; the Centre for Bhutan Studies; the Province of Nova Scotia; the Gorsebrook Research Institute at Saint Mary's University; and the University of New Brunswick.

The second regional Conference took place November 8-11, 2006 at Meiji Gakuin University in Yokohama. The conference examined Haida successes to apply non western economic and social modalities.

[edit] Happiness as understood by neo-classical economics

Under neo-classical economic theory happiness, subjectively defined, has long been the standard of measurement used interchangeably with utility as well as the general welfare.

Modern classical economics no longer attempt to quantify happiness or satisfaction through measurements in consumption and profits. Instead, modern neo classical framework argue that individual's preference is revealed through choice. Therefore, if an individual decided to purchase an apple over orange, the satisfaction one derived from apple is revealed to be greater than an orange. Similarly, modern economics also consider that work/leisure balance is also matter of individual choice.

The idea that modern neo classical economics define happiness on the basis of consumption is incorrect. The basis of utility has been defined as revealed preference.

[edit] External studies

In a widely cited study, "A Global Projection of Subjective Well-being: A Challenge to Positive Psychology?" by Adrian G. White of the University of Leicester in 2007, Bhutan ranked 8th out of 178 countries in Subjective Well-Being, a metric that has been used by many psychologists since 1997.[6] In fact, it is the only country in the top 20 "happiest" countries that has a very low GDP.

[edit] Criticism

Critics allege that because GNH depends on a series of subjective judgments about well-being, governments may be able to define GNH in a way that suits their interests. In the case of Bhutan, for instance, they say that the government expelled about one hundred thousand people and stripped them of their Bhutanese citizenship on the grounds that the deportees were ethnic Nepalese who had settled in the country illegally.[7][8] In this sense, it is likely more informative to consider differences among countries on this metric using a common scale[9][10] rather than evaluating a country's GNH in some absolute context.

Alternative indicators of emotion as an analog to economic progress have also been supported by a number of NGOs such as the UK's New Economics Foundation, and are employed in some governments notably in Europe and Canada.[citation needed]. The Gallup poll system also collects data on happiness on a national scale.[11]

[edit] See also

[edit] Notes

  1. ^ http://www.gpiatlantic.org/conference/papers/mcdonald.pdf
  2. ^ Templeton, Sarah-Kate (December 5, 2004). "Happiness is the new economics" (html). Timesonline. http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,2087-1388623,00.html. Retrieved 2007-01-08. 
  3. ^ http://www.iim-edu.org/grossnationalhappiness/
  4. ^ http://www.iim-edu.org/polls/grossnationalhappinesssurvey.htm
  5. ^ http://psycnet.apa.org/journals/psp/69/5/851/ Factors Predicting the Subjective Well-Being of Nations
  6. ^ http://www.le.ac.uk/users/aw57/world/sample.html A Global Projection of Subjective Well-being: A Challenge to Positive Psychology?
  7. ^ "Bhutan refugees on hunger strike". BBC Website. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/south_asia/2774803.stm. Retrieved 2006-07-08. 
  8. ^ "Bhutan criticised over Nepalese refugees". BBC Website. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/south_asia/723666.stm. Retrieved 2006-07-08. 
  9. ^ http://psycnet.apa.org/journals/psp/69/5/851/ Factors Predicting the Subjective Well-Being of Nations
  10. ^ http://www.le.ac.uk/users/aw57/world/sample.html A Global Projection of Subjective Well-being: A Challenge to Positive Psychology?
  11. ^ http://www.gallup.com/poll/103795/wellbeing-report-card-president-sarkozy.aspx

[edit] References

  • Powdyel, T.S. “Gross National Happiness, A Tribute,” Gross National Happiness, Kinga, Sonam, et al (eds) (1999), Thimphu: The Center for Bhutan Studies
  • Priesner, Stefan (2004), Indigeneity and Unversality in Social Science: A South Asian Response, SAGE Publications, ISBN: 0761932151
  • Thinley, L. (1998, October). Values and Development: “Gross National Happiness.” Speech Presented at the Millenium Meeting for Asia and the Pacific, Seoul, Republic of Korea.

[edit] External links

Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gross_national_happiness"