Topic：The economics of happiness: What, according to economists, is happiness? Do you agree?

In “ Sustainability in an Emerging Nation: The Bhutan Case Study，” Yangka，Newman，Rauland and Devereux（2018）said the Gross National Happiness（GNH）paradigm can indeed contribute to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals（SDGs）. At first，the authors pointed out whether the happiness of the country relates to economic growth. The authors then used a national level GHN survey in 2010 and 2015 to ascertain if the nation was increasing in its “happiness”. As a result, the authors concluded that GNH-based development aspires to balance material well-being and cultural or spiritual aspects of well-being, which is increasingly being recognized as a necessity for economic development. I will use this article, and other sources, to show that residents' happiness index is the necessity for economic development.

Reference

Yangka, D., Newman, P., Rauland, V., & Devereux, P. (2018). Sustainability in an emerging nation: The bhutan case study. Sustainability, 10(5), 1622. doi:10.3390/su10051622