Gross domestic wellbeing
Imagine if it was possible to measure the quality of our lives and compare what is defined as ‘well-being’ through factors that have a direct impact on the way we live. The better life index does just this—measures the overall wellbeing of a country by taking 11 factors—Housing, Jobs, Community, Enviro-nment, Income, Health, Life Satisfaction, Safety, Work-life balance, Education and Governance— into consideration.
Gross Domestic Product (GDP) based calculations of countries’ wealth have been under criticism for a while and for this reason, alternative measurements such as this one for the overall well-being of a country, has been conceived of. The Better Life Index measures the way we conduct our lives, not necessarily through a monetary lens, but rather other factors such as life enjoyment, personal gratification, satisfaction and happiness.
The Economic Performance and Social Progress Monitoring Committee established by French President Nicolas Sarkozy in 2009 which aims to identity the limitations of the GDP in measuring economic performance and social progress, represents an alternative way to assess the wealth of nations. A report was produced with some practical proposals on how it is possible to change the way we measure wealth and therefore contribute to changing the perception of what we think as most the important elements of life.
Perhaps OECD, the global think tank of wealthy and emerging nations, came up with the Better Life Index inspired by Sarkozy’s initiative. The index is an interactive tool where it is possible to compare between 39 countries the level of well-being in eleven sectors that are key determinants for national prosperity. There is no a ranking assigned, but readers can figure out which country is doing better in one determined area or another, leading to define the standard of national well-being.
Now imagine if such an initiative can be carried out for least developed countries but is tailored-made for countries at the bottom of the development ladder. How would Nepal perform in areas like health, life satisfaction, safety and work-life balance? Well, few might be surprised by the final outcome of a Nepal Better Life Index as we are all well aware of the poor status of our economy. But are we really sure that everything is going so bad? Is the overall level of frustration that pushes millions of dynamic youth to go overseas the only indicator for a general hopelessness?
Life in Nepal is not easy at all for the majority of the population, although there is an emerging wave of middle class riding powerful motorbikes and aspiring for a better life which we all know depends on certain material living conditions. But is there a correlation between the end of poverty and the overall wellbeing that makes people happy with their lives? Don’t the actions we take in attaining happiness count towards our overall wellbeing? The national development strategy of Nepal does not mention the concept of wellbeing— is it too absurd to have a national wellbeing strategy for Nepal?
Things in Nepal might be terrible from a certain perspective but this should not lead to a simplistic and pessimistic view of society. The social fabric is strong and people tend to look happier than what is described in many brochures or leaflets of many overseas charity organisations raising money for Nepal.
The real bottom line is that striking a balance between material and spiritual happiness is not an easy job and actually gets really hard to achieve in capitalistic societies. Unfortunately, it is not an easy task in emerging countries either where only one model of economic development—measured by the GDP— is getting more and more prominent.
Reducing poverty, inequality and making society a better and fairer place is the daunting job of the state and civil society supported by international donors. External aid in itself is supposed to bring an end to human suffering, pushing up millions of people to have good education, a decent health system, kicking off the path for economic prosperity.
We have an opportunity. Being a nation in transition, a country that is reinventing itself, politically and economically and is currently on its way to dismantle the multiple layers of the caste system, Nepal should think and imagine a different model of development that will lead to overall wellbeing of the society.
Should the donors, INGOs start thinking a bit out of the box and take some inspirations from the Better Life Index? Can we even imagine the National Planning Commission venturing out of orthodoxy box and thinking differently? Can for example, the SAARC take the lead to pilot a link a regional Better Life Regional Plan complementary to existing ones?
These questions might appear theoretical with little practical implications on our daily lives and struggles, but it is all about resetting the development process with a new and bold thinking. Having a better and dignified life should be a desire and a legitimate inspiration for everybody and national wellbeing advancement a goal.
Posted on: 2011-07-07 09:12
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