To
understand the way Bhutan calculates its Gross National Happiness, we
should recall the way we were marked and graded in our school and college days.
In India, each subject was awarded a maximum of 100 marks, with 35 or 40 as a
passing threshold. Students received a
distinction, first, second or third class as grades based on the sum of marks translated
in a percent score. Instead of Bachelor of Arts or Science, imagine yourself
appearing for a “Bachelor of Happiness” degree with the following nine subjects,
all carrying equal weight.
1.
Psychological well being
2.
Health
3.
Time use
4.
Education
5.
Cultural diversity and
resilience
6.
Good governance
7.
Community vitality
8.
Ecological diversity and
resilience
9.
Living standards
Before
describing each, let me explain the concept of thresholds.
Thresholds
The
GNH index uses two kinds of thresholds or cut offs: Sufficiency thresholds
and a happiness threshold.
Sufficiency
thresholds are like passing marks. It asks ‘how much is enough to be happy’.
For example, in Bhutan, an income of 1.5 times the poverty line income is
considered sufficient for the earner to be happy. In affluent countries, a car
and a bedroom of your own may be a sufficiency threshold. (Ownership of twenty
cars and a house with fifty bedrooms may not result in exponential happiness.
No matter how well you write an exam paper, you will never get more than 100%).
The
second cut off is the happiness threshold. It asks ‘how many domains or in
what percentage of indicators must a person achieve sufficiency in order to be
understood as happy?’ In other words, you will get your ‘Bachelor of
happiness’ if you cross the sufficiency thresholds (receive pass marks) in at
least 66% of the indicators. Why is GNH marked at 66%? Because the system is
subjective, and people are diverse. For example, spirituality is one of the
indicators. An atheist may discard it (not pass in that subject), but still be
happy because he has achieved sufficiency in so many other indicators.
Each
Bhutanese citizen is interviewed as part of the GNH survey. Based on his or her
answers, a score is created. The person gets classified into one of four
categories. Following are the results of Bhutan’s 2015 survey.
2015 GNH survey
|
Score range
|
% of Bhutanese
|
Deeply Happy
|
77%-100%
|
8.4%
|
Extensively Happy
|
66%-76%
|
35.0%
|
Narrowly Happy
|
50%-65%
|
47.9%
|
Unhappy
|
0%-49%
|
8.8%
|
Is
Bhutan the happiest nation, because it invented GNH? Not at all, and the
kingdom doesn’t claim to be. By quantifying happiness in detail, Bhutan can keep
reshaping its politics and public policy in order to improve the score. The
national index in 2015 was 0.756, an improvement over 0.743 in 2010.
Let
me now briefly talk of the nine domains and the 33 indicators that are part of
those domains.
Psychological
well-being
Indicators:
(a) Life satisfaction, (b) emotional balance (positive and negative emotions)
and (c) spirituality.
Life
satisfaction is a person’s self-assessment based on his health, occupation,
family, standard of living and work-life balance, each measured on a scale of
1-5. The highest score is 25, whereas the sufficiency threshold is set at 19.
Compassion,
generosity, forgiveness, contentment and calmness are the positive emotions,
while selfishness, jealousy, anger, fear and worry are the negative or
‘disturbing’ emotions. Both are rated on a scale of 1 (never) to 5 (very much).
Spirituality
is self assessed but also asks about the person’s view on karma, his engagement
in prayers and meditation. This factor would be less relevant in places like
Europe or USA.
Health
Indicators:
(a) Self-reported health status (b) Number of healthy days (c) disability (d)
mental health
Typically,
a Bhutanese individual is said to be well only if heat and pain are absent from
the body and sorrow is absent from the mind. The sufficiency threshold for
healthy days has been set at 26 days a month. The mental health indicator
consists of 12 questions that can decipher depression, anxiety as well as
confidence and concentration levels of the respondent.
Health,
in my view, is critical for happiness. I know of a couple of multi-millionaires
each spending the last decade in a wheelchair constantly shuttling between home
and hospital.
Time
Use
Indicators:
(a) Paid work (b) Unpaid work (c) Sleeping hours
Working
hours under GNH include unpaid work such as childcare, household work and
voluntary work. Eight hours a day is the legal limit. Those who work longer are
identified as ‘time deprived’. Many Bhutanese women, and people in Eastern
Bhutan suffer from time deprivation.
Eight
hours’ sleep is considered necessary for a well-functioning body. Those
sleeping short hours are ‘sleep deprived’.
Shortage
of sleep due to overwork is a double whammy. It deprives a person of free time
as well as sleep.
Education
Indicators:
(a) Literacy (b) schooling (c) knowledge (d) value
The
holistic approach values deep foundation in traditional knowledge, common
values and skills. The primary task of education, formal or otherwise, is the
creation of good human beings. That’s why the indicator includes the
cultivation and transmission of values.
Reading/writing
in one language and six years of schooling are sufficiency thresholds.
The
five knowledge variables are interesting. Knowledge of (1) local legends and
folk stories, (2) local festivals, (3) traditional songs, (4) HIV-AIDS
transmission and (5) constitution.
In
values, respondents are asked how justifiable the five destructive actions are:
killing, stealing, lying, creating disharmony in relationships and sexual
misconduct.
Cultural
diversity and resilience
Indicators:
(a) Speak native language (b) artisan skills (c) socio-cultural activities (d)
Driglam Namzha (the way of harmony)
In
Bhutan, the sufficiency threshold is very high for speaking the native
language, since almost everyone is fluent in his/her mother tongue. (Not the
case in elite or elitist India).
The
13 arts and crafts include weaving, embroidery, painting, carpentry, carving,
sculpture, casting, blacksmithing, bamboo works, gold/silver- smithing,
masonry, leather works and papermaking. (This is one indicator where I fail
miserably).
Respondents
are asked the number of days they participated in socio-cultural activities in
the past 12 months. The sufficiency threshold is 6-12 days a year.
Driglam
Namzha is the expected behaviour on formal occasions. For example, at Indian
weddings, Indian women wear colourful, silk sarees. If respondents perceive
this as important, they score higher. The assumption is that valuing traditions
grows happiness.
Good
Governance
Indicators:
(a) Political participation (b) Fundamental rights (c) Service delivery (d)
Government performance
Political
participation is assessed based on your inclination to vote in the next
election, and the frequency of your attending the community meetings.
Fundamental
rights include freedom of speech and opinion, to vote, to form or join any
political party, equal access to join public service, equal pay for work of
equal value, non-discrimination based on race or gender.
Service
delivery is measured by your access to the nearest health care centre, waste
disposal method, access to electricity and clean water supply. If you dispose
trash by composting/burning/ municipal garbage pickup, you are doing fine. If
your answer is to dump in forests/dump in rivers, then you are deprived.
You
assess your government’s efficiency by rating their performance in the last 12
months on seven objectives: employment, equality, education, health,
anti-corruption, environment and culture. Each is rated on a scale of 1 to 5;
the maximum value for this indicator is 35. A sufficiency threshold is set at 28;
meaning a ‘good’ or ‘very good’ rating is needed in at least five objectives.
It
is noteworthy that your method of waste disposal or your government’s
performance affect not only the nation’s happiness but your individual
happiness as well.
Community
Vitality
Indicators:
(a) Donating time and money (b) Community relationships (c) Family
GNH
philosophy expects strong relationships among the community members and within
families, socially constructive values, volunteering and donating time and
money, and safety from violence and crime. These are considered fundamental to
community development.
For
donation, (1) donating 10% of your income and volunteering 3 days a year or (2)
donating 20% of your income or (3) volunteering for more than 6 days a year are
the sufficiency thresholds.
Community
relationships are judged by your ‘sense of belonging’ and ‘trust in
neighbours’.
For
assessing safety, respondents are asked whether they have been a victim of
crime in the past 12 months. The question requires a yes or no, and the
threshold is set at “no”.
Ecological
Diversity and Resilience
Indicators:
(a) Wildlife damage (b) Urban issues (c) Environmental responsibility (d)
Pollution
This
domain explains why Bhutan doesn’t welcome tourists. Tourism can be a grand
business for Bhutan, the GDP would grow dramatically, but the pollution would
go up and wildlife may get damaged. Happiness will fall just as GDP grows.
(Indian tourists are reluctantly allowed because India takes care of Bhutan’s
defence. China swallowing Bhutan like it did with Tibet is an existential
threat. Execution of that threat would turn Bhutan into a very unhappy nation,
perhaps no longer a kingdom.).
The
Constitution of Bhutan expects every Bhutanese citizen “to contribute to the
protection of the natural environment, conservation of the rich biodiversity of
Bhutan and prevention of all forms of ecological degradation including noise,
visual and physical pollution.” (Article 5)
The
wildlife indicator asks for information on damage to crops.
Respondents
are asked to report their worries on four urban issues: traffic congestion,
inadequate green spaces, lack of pedestrian streets and urban sprawl. This
indicator acts as a substitute for sustainable urban development.
Living
Standards
Indicators:
(a) Household income (b) Assets (c) Housing quality
This
area refers to the material wellbeing of the Bhutanese people.
While
we may think of a mobile phone, TV, computer, refrigerator or bicycle as
assets, for many Bhutanese, livestock and farming land are the primary assets.
Focus group discussions in rural districts concluded that five acres was the
sufficiency threshold for a rural family of five people.
The
quality of housing is composed of three indicators: the type of roofing, type
of toilet and room ratio. Corrugated galvanised iron (CGI) or concrete brick or
stone for roofing, pit latrine with septic tank for toilet and two persons per
room are the thresholds and all three must be met.
Deeply
happy
Having
looked at the nine domains and the thirty-three indicators, let us look at the
profile of the “Deeply Happy” people in Bhutan, 8.3% of the Bhutanese
population. Two thirds of them are male, one third female. 70% live in rural
areas, 30% in urban areas. 60% of them are aged 40 or less. 84% are married,
and 12% are never married. (Meaning you are unlikely to be deeply happy if you
are divorced, separated or widowed. If any of the three, please remarry as soon
as possible for deep happiness).
Of
course, the Bhutanese GNH structure is not perfect. A creative person, despite
meeting all other indicators, may be unhappy if he is not creating enough. Such
instances don’t seem to be covered. However, What GNH does is to try to
quantify happiness. In India, as children, we were told that happiness is a
state of mind. Now fifty years later, I will dispute that. A terminally ill
cancer patient in pain, a worker perennially harassed by his boss, a man
wrongfully sent to jail, a chronically hungry person, a flying executive with
no time to sleep are all people who can’t be happy. GNH, however subjective,
tries to systematically measure happiness so that the individual and the nation
can take steps to enhance it.
In
a hypothetical survey to measure my own happiness, I found myself not reaching
the threshold in artisan skills, not happy with the government performance,
living in excessively damaged and polluted environment, and without assets
worth talking about. On the other hand, I am doing fine with mental and
physical health, time use, education, human interaction, donating time and
money and fundamental freedoms. Overall, I score about 80% and can count myself
as deeply happy. What about you?
Ravi
Further
reading for those interested
This eight page summary
offers the results of the GNH research of 2015.
A 35-slide presentation
by Sabina Alkire from Oxford University, made in 2011.
a 12 minute film on GNH
(4)
http://www.earth.columbia.edu/sitefiles/file/Sachs%20Writing/2012/World%20Happiness%20Report.pdf
World happiness report.
Excellent case study on Bhutan’s GNH between pages 108- 146. The primary source
of this article.
The dates for the next
GNH conference in Bhutan next month.
Another 100-page
authoritative guide.
The world happiness report
inspired originally by Bhutan’s GNH is now produced annually. It is also
holistic, but uses different indicators. In 2017, Norway is the happiest
country, followed by Denmark, Iceland and Switzerland. The headlines include
‘Chinese people not happier than 25 years ago’, ‘Africa struggling’, and
‘happiness falling in America’. America, ranked 3rd ten years ago, was
19th in 2016. India fell from
118th to 122nd position.
R.
How does matriarchy influence the development of these systems in BHUTAN?
ReplyDeleteJagan, do you mean monarchy?
ReplyDelete