{"id":687,"date":"2009-05-27T09:34:10","date_gmt":"2009-05-27T03:34:10","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.bridgetobhutan.com\/blog\/?p=687"},"modified":"2009-05-27T09:34:10","modified_gmt":"2009-05-27T03:34:10","slug":"measuring-gross-national-happiness-gnh","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bridgetobhutan.com\/blog\/2009\/05\/27\/measuring-gross-national-happiness-gnh\/","title":{"rendered":"Measuring Gross National Happiness (GNH): 4 pillars, 9 Domains & 72 Indicators"},"content":{"rendered":"

For a long time, Bhutan<\/a> didn’t want to measure happiness. Simply ask one question- Are you happy in Bhutan? and you have the answer… Since the world is increasingly obsessed with numbers, the Center for Bhutan Studies<\/a> in Bhutan along with the international academia & development practitioners, came up with a formula after several international conferences on GNH. The first conference was held in 2004 in Thimphu, Bhutan and in 2010, it will be held in Brazil.<\/em><\/p>\n

Happiness formula<\/strong>: Jealousy, sexual misconduct, or apathy toward reciting prayers – Bhutan is now ready with a set of mathematical formulae to measure these personal feelings and collect it all to calculate the country\u2019s happiness.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Image\"<\/p>\n

Happiness formula uses 72 indicators, from reciting prayers to buying second-hand clothes.<\/strong><\/p>\n

For all those GNH skeptics who said happiness can never be measured, the Centre for Bhutan Studies is ready with the tools. <\/span><\/p>\n

There are 72 measurable indicators grouped under nine principal domains – time use, living standards, good governance, psychological wellbeing, community vitality, culture, health, education, and ecology.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0But, how is happiness calculated?<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0Consider that hours of sleep (a1) and trust in media (a2) are two examples of the 72 indicators that can be measured on a scale of 0 to 1.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0The formula is:<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0GNH index = 1 \u2013\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>a1+a2+\u2026..+a72<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>72 <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0There is one more method to calculate happiness, but the above one gives a more efficient result, Tshoki Zangmo, a researcher with the Centre for Bhutan Studies, told BT.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0Following the formula, Bhutan\u2019s GNH index after a survey of 950 respondents from 12 dzongkhags was 0.812. This means that among the 950 respondents the happiness level is 81%.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0The dzongkhags surveyed included Dagana, Tsirang, Wangduephodrang, Samtse, Zhemgang, Pemagatshel, Samdrup Jongkhar, Trashigang, Trashiyangtse, Gasa, Haa, and Thimphu.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0The survey conducted between December 2007 to March 2008 showed Haa to be happiest district with an index of 0.8273 and Dagana to be the least happy with an index of 0.8026. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0Each respondent was asked a long list of questions and an interview took about half-a-day to be completed.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0If the 72 indicator indexes are first weighted to the nine domains, the GNH index is 0.805 and the happy-dzongkhag list changes with Wangduephodrang topping the list with a weighted index of 0.818 and Trashigang trailing as the least happy with 0.790. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0The survey was an improved version of the three-month pilot conducted between September 2006 and January 2007 where 350 people in nine dzongkhags were interviewed. It took about seven to eight hours for one interview.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0While the GNH index is the aggregate of all its indicators, there are specific formulas to measure the 72 specific indicators. For example, the survey of 12 dzongkhags on a question \u2018Do you practice meditation?\u2019 with the ideal answer as \u2018occasionally\u2019 revealed the lowest index of all questions with 0.098. The highest index was 0.995 on the question \u2018How important is it for children to learn discipline?\u2019 with the ideal answer as \u2018very important\u2019.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0Of the nine domains, the GNH index on education is the lowest with 0.548, while time use is the highest with 0.970.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>Putting GNH into practice<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>A question that has always challenged the study of GNH is how to put the GNH principles into practice?\u00a0 <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0The CBS claims to have an answer for this, too.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0The measure of GNH indicators can serve as evaluative tools against any kind of initiative before it is implemented. It can be used to know in advance whether the initiative is in tandem with the principles of GNH. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0Similarly, all government policies and programs can undergo an exercise before it is implemented to gauge whether it is pro-GNH. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u201cThe CBS has come up with a set of pro-GNH screening tools and recommends all government policies and programs to undergo the exercise before it is implemented. We have submitted a proposal for the same to the GNH Commission,\u201d said Tshoki Zangmo. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0The Secretary of the GNH Commission, Karma Tshiteem, said the Commission has endorsed the proposal and it will soon be presented to the cabinet. \u201cOnce the cabinet approves it, we will be using the (screening) tools in policy making.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0The GNH screening tools can be applied in two phases, at the project level and the policy level. It has been designed to scrutinize projects and policies to be implemented at three levels: those meant for all ministries and sectors (for example, good governance), for respective ministries (health, education), and for individual sectors (youth employment).<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0For a long time, Bhutan envisaged pursuing GNH through the four pillars of sustainable and equitable socio-economic development, environmental conservation, preservation and promotion of culture, and good governance.\u00a0 <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0Talking to the media earlier, the CBS president, Dasho Karma Ura, said: \u201cThe four pillars evoke and capture the imagination more easily. At the same time, the metaphor of four pillars is restrictive as it is not all-embracing or encompassing as GNH itself.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0Addressing the fourth international conference on GNH in Thimphu on November 24 last year, Prime Minister Lyonchen Jigmi Y. Thinley said: \u201cWith such a sobering awareness, my government has begun a spirited journey of combining democracy and GNH\u2026We have pledged to consolidate and strengthen the conditions that will enable each citizen to find happiness.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>More to do<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>The 72 indicators developed by the CBS can still be fine-tuned and improved with further research to make it more representative, said Tshoki Zangmo. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0The two initial surveys done by the CBS, with financial assistance from the government and the UNDP, was not nationwide because of which a national GNH data is still desired.\u00a0 <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0The CBS plans to conduct a nationwide survey next year and has approached the UNDP for financial support.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0An official told BT that the 2010 budget programs will be finalized only at the end of this year. \u201cWe will look into it then,\u201d he said.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0A major setback in conducting GNH surveys is the volume of questions and the time taken for individual interviews. In both the initial surveys, enumerators took more than six hours to interview one respondent. In the second survey of 950 respondents, a 72-page questionnaire had 290 questions and 604 respondents were farmers and 791 were from rural areas which meant that the enumerator had to verbally explain the question to the respondent and fill up the answers.\u00a0 <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>GNHization <\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>Coming out with the formula is a commendable achievement for the CBS given that it was mandated by the government to develop the GNH indicators only in 2005. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0Of late, high priority has been placed in defining the country\u2019s course in the line of GNH. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0In January 2008, the Planning Commission was renamed as the GNH Commission. The DPT government has committed itself to the principles of GNH and Lyonchen Jigmi Y. Thinley has announced to establish GNH committees at the ministerial, dzongkhag, and gewog levels.<\/span><\/p>\n

Gift to the world<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>The ingredients of the statistical combination to quantify happiness are designed to suit only the Bhutanese context. However, the mathematical rules can be extended and customized to measure GNH of any economy.<\/span><\/p>\n

By Tashi Dorji <\/strong>(Source: Bhutan Times)<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

For a long time, Bhutan didn’t want to measure happiness. Simply ask one question- Are you happy in Bhutan? and you have the answer… Since the world is increasingly obsessed with numbers, the Center for Bhutan Studies in Bhutan along with the international academia & development practitioners, came up with a formula after several international … Continue reading Measuring Gross National Happiness (GNH): 4 pillars, 9 Domains & 72 Indicators<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8,11,14,16],"tags":[69,219,609],"class_list":["post-687","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-gross-national-happiness","category-news","category-sustainable-development","category-tourism-bhutan","tag-add-new-tag","tag-bhutan-travel","tag-gross-national-happiness"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/bridgetobhutan.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/687","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/bridgetobhutan.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/bridgetobhutan.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bridgetobhutan.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bridgetobhutan.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=687"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/bridgetobhutan.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/687\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/bridgetobhutan.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=687"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bridgetobhutan.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=687"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bridgetobhutan.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=687"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}