Happiness economics
Also called: Economics of happiness · Topic: Measuring Development: Income, HDI and Sustainability · NCERT: Beyond NCERT
Meaning
Happiness economics studies subjective well-being and life satisfaction, meaning how people themselves feel about their lives. It also studies what drives these feelings, such as income, health, social support, trust and freedom. The usual survey tool is the Cantril ladder. People rate their lives from 0 (worst possible) to 10 (best possible).
Example
The World Happiness Report has been published since 2012. It is now produced by Oxford's Wellbeing Research Centre with Gallup and the UN SDSN. It ranks countries by Cantril ladder scores and explains them with six variables:
- GDP per capita,
- social support,
- healthy life expectancy,
- freedom to make life choices,
- generosity,
- perceived corruption.
Finland tops the report. India ranked 118 in WHR 2025.
Don't confuse with
- Gross National Happiness (GNH): this is Bhutan's development philosophy and index. It has 4 pillars, 9 domains and 33 indicators, and is written into Bhutan's 2008 Constitution. Happiness economics is a field of study, not a national policy.