Well being

Well being is really of the most interest to me. If I had a magic wand I would immediately wave it and everyone would have well being. The question is, what would that look like? Would it be the same thing to everyone? What factors would be considered and how would you measure them?

Until the mid '70s no one ever really considered challenging the fact that measuring well being would include a measure of GNP (GDP). At that time Jigme Singye Wangchuck, the King of Bhutan, declared unequivocally that human well-being, happiness and development can not be measured by the financial output of a nation. In 1990 the development of the Human Development Index acknowledged that development was more than financial and included factors for health (life expectancy) and education (adult literacy and school enrollment ratio) were included with GDP at PPP (Purchasing Power Parity). The UN has continuously used this measure since then.

Only in relatively recent years has serious attention been given to how to measure King Singye's Gross National Happiness.