Gross National Happiness and Macroeconomic Indicators in the Kingdom of Bhutan
Author | : Sriram Balasubramanian |
Publisher | : International Monetary Fund |
Total Pages | : 26 |
Release | : 2019-01-16 |
ISBN-10 | : 9781484395271 |
ISBN-13 | : 1484395271 |
Rating | : 4/5 (71 Downloads) |
Book excerpt: This paper examines the origins and use of the concept of Gross National Happiness (or subjective well-being) in the Kingdom of Bhutan, and the relationship between measured well-being and macroeconomic indicators. While there are only a few national surveys of Gross National Happiness in Bhutan, the concept has been used to guide public policymaking for the country’s various Five-Year Plans. Consistent with the Easterlin Paradox, available evidence indicates that Bhutan’s rapid increase in national income is only weakly associated with increases in measured levels of well-being. It will be important for Bhutan to undertake more frequent Gross National Happiness surveys and evaluations, to better build evidence for comovement of well-being and macroeconomic concepts such as real national income.