Gross national happiness gnh is a measurement of the collective happiness in a nation. The 2015 gnh index on a purposebuilt survey of 7153 bhutanese in every dzongkhag of. Bhutan has famously gone furthest in this direction and uses a gross national happiness index to guide policies and track progress. Bhutans 2015 gross national happiness index centre for bhutan. Pdf gross national happiness index of gcbs students of. Furthermore, the political and economic architecture of bhutan is structured around maximizing gnh rather than gdp. The gnh concept has inspired a modern political happiness movement. The experience of gross national happiness as development framework this paper explores gross national happiness gnh as a framework for socioeconomic development in bhutan by elucidating gnh principles that affect the way bhutanese society and state interact. To help understand and promote happiness, the centre for bhutan studies and gnh research was established in 1999. Gross national happiness gnh can be regarded as the next stage in the evolution of economic indicators for sustainable development, going beyond merely measuring values that can be expressed in. Gross national happiness human development reports. Thus, gross national happiness is now being fleshed out by a wide range of professionals, scholars and agencies across the world.
It explains the origins of the concept of gnh, its grounding in bhutanese culture and history, and describes how the concept is being operationalized in the form of the gnh index in some novel and innovative ways. Critical analysis of gross national happiness index. Gross national happiness index gnh and the sustainable. The tiny kingdom of bhutan, tucked away in the himalayas between china and india, is known for its innovative gross national happiness index, a measurement tool used to incentivize policies that. Gross national happiness is a philosophy that guides the bhutanese government. Gross national happiness tourism council of bhutan. Pdf the history of gross national happiness researchgate. Gross national happiness index of gcbs students of bhutan. In bhutan, the pursuit of happiness is more important than the pursuit of prosperity. In 1979 the fourth king of bhutan king jigme wangchuck, coined the term gross national happiness by chance in 1979 during an interview in bombay airport when his majesty said we do not. Gross national happiness gnh is a comprehensive approach to development, which values collective happiness as the goal of governance through balancing material and nonmaterial values and it is used in place of gross national product gdp.
Factors like an income gap and unemployment partially accounted. The report highlights the fact that in bhutan material progress and accumulation of wealth are not regarded as the ultimate goal. Critical analysis of gross national happiness vii this master thesis on towards a new development paradigm. Bhutan, known for its gross national happiness index.
All books are in clear copy here, and all files are secure so dont worry about it. Rather, gross national happiness gnh is considered far more important than gross national product gnp. Bhutan s gross national happiness index may not have led to it being the happiest country, but it has improved life spans and produced other tangible gains. A living example of an alternative approach to progress abstract as a society we care about what we measure, we use what we measure, and what we measure drives policies and society in a particular direction. Bhutan s principles have been set in policy through the gross national happiness index, based on equitable social development, cultural preservation, conservation of. Gross national happiness gnh as a multidimensional development approach the most important element of the bhutanese model of development has been the concept of gross national happiness gnh, and the gnh index and tool which has been formulated alongside this philosophy. In december 2005, the government asked the cbs to study bhutan s development concept of gross national happiness gnh, develop gnh index and. The first bhutan gnh index was published in 2012, after the cmepsp report and appears as a customized version of the gross national. The experience of gross national happiness as development. Critical analysis of gross national happiness is an analysis of gnh and a contribution to a quite widespread debate on how to move beyond gdp.
Gross national happiness is instituted as the goal of the government of bhutan in the constitution of bhutan, enacted on 18 july 2008. The concept implies that sustainable development should take a holistic approach towards notions of progress and give equal importance to noneconomic aspects of wellbeing. View gross national happiness research papers on academia. The centre for bhutan studies has published a short guide to gross national happiness index, available in pdf. The index hasnt solved all the countrys problems, of course. Gross national happiness of bhutan and its false promises. Gross national happiness the government of bhutan has chosen national happiness as the index of progress, the major components of which are. Bhutan screens all sectoral plans and policies to ensure that they are consistent with gross national happiness. Human development since 1960 24 expanding opportunities 25 access to jobs and sources of livelihood 25 access to basic health 27 access to. The limitations of gross domestic product gdp to measure peoples wellbeing have been widely discussed and documented in the literature.
Read online gross national happiness and centre for bhutan studies. Gross national happiness and centre for bhutan studies. At the global level, translating gross national happiness. Bhutans gross national happiness an economic reality or. In creating the gross national happiness index, bhutan sought to create a measurement tool that would be useful for policymaking and create policy incentives for the government, ngos and businesses of bhutan to increase gnh. Keywordsgross national happinessbhutanalternative economic. In bhutan, gross national happiness represents a holistic set of values.
Gross national happiness and macroeconomic indicators in the. The driving development philosophy of gross national happiness from the himalayan kingdom of bhutan is. The birthplace of gross national happiness is growing a. Mahayana buddhism and gross national happiness in bhutan. The economy and happiness of bhutan, by fred foldvary, ph. Happiness gnh index was developed at the centre for bhutan studies for the royal. Gross national happiness index sustainable development. Bhutan s human development index 18 expanding gross national happiness 18 the constituents of happiness 20 2.
However, a limited number of living societal solutions exist in response the emergent crisis of overconsumption, deep inequality and resource depletion. The state shall strive to promote those conditions that will enable the pursuit of gross national happiness. This country put happiness before economy, but did it work. Gross national happiness gnh, and the gnh index and tool which has. Gross national happiness, or gnh, is a holistic and sustainable approach to development, which balances material and nonmaterial values with the conviction that humans want to search for happiness. The remainder of this report presents the findings of the 2015 gross national happiness gnh survey, which collected information from across bhutan on many aspects of bhutanese peoples lives that relate to wellbeing measurement and analysis. Under bhutan s principal guiding philosophy of gross national happiness gnh, the countrys longterm development vision and rational calls for a holistic approach to development that gives the economic and noneconomic aspects of wellbeing equal importance. In this paper, the basic conceptual features of mahayana buddhism are discussed particularly as they relate to the mahayana buddhist view of happiness. Economists all over the world have argued that the key to happiness is obtaining andenjoying. Meet the country that passes no law unless it improves.
The centre for bhutan studies cbs is a social science research institute which conducts interdisciplinary studies on bhutan for advancing its social, cultural, economic and political wellbeing. The birthplace of gross national happiness is growing a bit cynical. It includes an index which is used to measure the collective happiness and wellbeing of a population. From that, analysts create a gnh profile for each person. On behalf of the centre for bhutan studies cbs, i would like to thank united. The gnh index gnhi is that critical evaluation tool for resultsbased planning to ensure that development truly contributes to the achievement. The fourth druk gyalpo emphasized that for bhutan gross national happiness, is more important than gross national product. Gnh was in bhutan in 1972 by the fourth king of bhutan, jigme.
The phrase gross national happiness was first coined by the 4th king of bhutan, king jigme singye wangchuck. Every now and then we are asked why we took all the trouble to develop a completely new index to measure the level of sustainability around the globe, whereas we could easily have adopted the already existing gross national happiness concept. Gross national happiness in bhutan, the concept has been used to. Parallels tourists flock to this happy nation and the world has tried to emulate its happiness index. Gnh is a philosophy that guides the government of bhutan. Thus the small country bhutan has come out with a big message for the whole world. In this context, bhutan s pioneering experience with gross national happiness gnh is a welcome departure from traditional global practices to measure a nations wealth and wellbeing. The government of bhutan also established the gross national happiness commission. It explains the origins of the concept of gnh, its grounding in bhutanese culture and history, and describes how the concept is being operationalized in the form of the gnh index in some. What happens when a country strives for happiness at any.
Gross national happiness and its impact within bhutan while the term was first coined nearly a half century before halperns the hidden wealth of nations was published, the ideation of gross national happiness gnh for driving growth and policy in bhutan is closely aligned with these newly popular concerns regarding holistic development. Case studies based analysis on the gross national happiness index of bhutan and the scandinavian countries. In 1972, the fourth king of bhutan announced that gross national happiness was more important than gross domestic product. Gross national happiness and macroeconomic indicators in. Luechauer in an online article entitled the false promises of bhutan s gross national happiness global south development magazine, the typical bhutanese citizen does not enjoy even the. Consistent with the easterlin paradox, available evidence indicates that bhutans rapid increase in national income is only weakly associated with. Download gross national happiness and centre for bhutan studies. Gross national happiness also known by the acronym. The term was coined in 1972 by bhutan s fourth dragon king, jigme singye wangchuck.
This guide introduces the 2010 gross national happiness gnh index of bhutan. Comparison of gnh to social progress index and policy effectiveness index. For the study of wellbeingwhat it is, how it works, and how to apply it for policy objectivesfour types of questions are especially germane. Gross national happiness index gnh and the sustainable society index ssi. The gross national happiness index is an index based on analysis of 33 indicators developed from the nine domains and a robust multidimensional methodology known as the alkirefoster method. Gross national happiness is a term coined by his majesty the fourth king of bhutan, jigme singye wangchuck in the 1970s. The phrase gross national happiness was first coined by the 4th king of bhutan, king jigme singye wangchuck, in 1972 when he declared, gross national happiness is more important than gross domestic product. The small mountainlocked country of bhutan is perhaps best known for its formal pursuit of happiness through its gross national happiness program.
727 918 1289 377 1207 85 476 1216 597 841 498 639 997 626 1057 1079 563 1134 907 1421 1414 1310 623 64 439 522 1490 424 1447 1487 960 1445 75 40 1381 79 1491 1335 592 921