Happy Economy

People have always wanted a happy life. What is new today is that economists, business leaders and whole governments are discussing how to assure that the increase of happiness is the goal of the economy. Much of the discussion concentrates on GDP (Gross Domestic Growth) or rather, alternatives to GDP, which would for instance account also for sustainability, equality of opportunities and subjective measures of happiness.
Among the candidates discussed are the the Human Development Index (HDI), used by the UN's Development Programme, the Genuine Progress Indicator, which incorporates aspects of social welfare, or the Happy Planet Index (HPI), which combines economic metrics with subjective indicators of well-being.

What would an economy that strives for happiness look like? Well, we can maybe look to Bhutan for some inspiration. Bhutan is the only country in the world where government policy is measured in terms of the impact on national happiness. In 2006, Bhutan banned some TV channels like wrestling and MTV which they felt did not promote happiness. Bhutan has banned Tobacco and plastic bags on the grounds that they make the country less happy. In order to hold back consumerism, advertising in public spaces is banned. Strict laws have been put in place to protect the environment. The standard of living is not as high as it could have been as growth has been moderated on purpose. (Source: BBC)