Economists have long understood the importance of going beyond economic data to gauge the true well-being of a society. Gross Domestic Product alone cannot alone measure quality of life. The Paris-based Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) has come up with a tool to try to capture the intangible elements that make for a happy life.
The Better Life Index was launched three years ago. Now, with more than 4 million respondents in 180 countries, it is beginning to paint a picture of what people are looking for.
Japanese users worry most about safety — understandable in the wake of the Fukoshima nuclear accident. Latin Americans strive for better education. The Better Life Index allows respondents to go online and rank 11 well-being indicators from income to environment, in order of importance to them, and then see how their country actually stacks up.
[For more of this story, written by Eleanor Beardsley, go to http://www.npr.org/blogs/parallels/2014/08/11/339414153/what-makes-a-nation-happy?utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=world]
Comments (0)