The OECD Throws Its Hat into the Happiness Measuring Ring

You'll never guess who this logo belongs to!
From Supply Chain Management Review.

The Guardian reports that the Paris-based Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (or OECD) has started including "life satisfaction" with its economic measures. As part of the OECD's 50th anniversary, The Better Life Index uses these 11 separate dimensions of measurement for each of the OECD's 34 member countries:  housing, income, jobs, community, education, environment, governance, health, life satisfaction, safety, and work-life balance. This should provide a more useful view of progress than the measurement of GDP alone.

OECD secretary-general Angel Gurría says, "This index encapsulates the OECD at 50, pushing the boundaries of knowledge and understanding in a pioneering and innovative manner. People around the world have wanted to go beyond GDP for some time. This index is designed for them. It has extraordinary potential to help us deliver better policies for better lives."

This effort to look beyond GDP is part of a recent trend. It started in Bhutan in the 70s, but within the past year Britain, Germany, Canada, one or two U.S. cities, and more have all started measuring their own happiness. Look at my Gross National Happiness tag for more info.

If YOU want to participate in the OECD's measurements, go to their Better Life website, where you can view stats for each country and take the survey yourself.

Germany Apparently Wants to Copy Rest of World, Measure Happiness

A view from Munich. From Geographic Guide.

According to this story from The Swedish Wire, Germany may join fellow bandwagon members Britain, France, and Canada in measuring Gross National Happiness. Speaker of parliament Norbert Lammert led the happiness committee, which will give its recommendations two-and-a-half years from now. They are considering a method that would survey quality of life along with GDP.

As many of you probably know by now, Bhutan has been the trend setter when it comes to happiness measures. They've measured Gross National Happiness since 1972, an unorthodox choice for a developing country. In the past few months, we've seen a flurry of countries start to think about national happiness measures for some reason. Why are they starting now? I have no idea, but maybe the economic depression has something to do with it.

Take a look at my Gross National Happiness tag for the most recent happenings on this topic.

Canada May Also Jump On Gross National Happiness Train

Here is the royal Canadian coat of arms,
in case you care about things like coats of arms.
From The Canadian Design Resource.

Tired of Canadian news yet? Good, here's some more:  according to The Globe and Mail, a group of experts in Ottawa has convened to discuss whether Canada should join Britain, France, and trend-setter Bhutan in measuring Gross National Happiness.

Mel Cappe, head of the Institute for Research on Public Policy, says he would welcome Gross National Happiness metrics because GDP numbers reward the production of stuff, which just leads to high volumes of garbage. The idea could still use some tweaking, but British Prime Minister David Cameron's endorsement of GNH has meant a lot. "The fact that Cameron said what he said is really a sea change," says Cappe.

Not everyone is on board, however. Don Drummond, another member of the convention, says that measurement of GDP does not necessarily mean that governments only pursue money. For him, voter happiness is already built into the election process itself, so there's no need for another metric.

These are all interesting points, but we'll have to wait and see what happens. Canadians, it's up to you!

Hey, France Is Also Measuring Happiness

The river kinda looks happy already. From cooltownstudios.

Because why not, right? According to this story from the Guardian, France will probably start measuring its national happiness as well, joining the ranks of England and Bhutan. Last year, Nicolas Sarkozy commissioned a happiness report from Nobel-winning economists Joseph Stiglitz and Amartya Sen. More recently Insee, the French national statistics office, included a new chapter in its annual Social Portrait of France. The chapter details how any future happiness studies should take place.

Interestingly, the report focuses more on unhappiness than happiness. Stéfan Lollivier, director of social studies at Insee, explains:

"You can't measure happiness, it's impossible, people don't have the same preferences for what makes them happy. But you can measure the fraction of people who are dissatisfied, who think they are unhappy, and the proportion of people who are missing out on happiness or feel excluded from it."

Current French statistics show that single parents are the most dissatisfied, and around one fifth of the French populace has gone through times of poverty--either emotional or financial.

Most researchers would disagree with Mr. Lollivier, by the way. Positive psychologists measure happiness all the time. Read just about any story on this blog for evidence! Still, this French method of surveying unhappiness should be just as valid, and could yield interesting results.

Will a Higher Retirement Age Change French Happiness?

French citizens protest changes in their retirement age.
From The Christian Science Monitor.

I'm no expert on French politics, but this story from The Canadian Press caught my eye. It's a character piece about a 61-year-old French man and how happy he is after retiring at 60. The man, Guy Roberts, says, "What happiness! To retire at 60, in good health, allows you to discover things... I retired with a sense of great joy and liberation."

This experience will probably change soon, as President Nicolas Sarkozy is in the process of raising the retirement age to 62. The president says that the costs of retirement pensions are unsustainable due to a constantly increasing life expectancy. The French are up in arms about this, with protests and strikes that have closed all of France's 12 oil refineries and a quarter of its gas stations.

But how does retirement affect happiness? I'm having trouble finding data. As I wrote last week, happiness tends to increase in old age, but I'm sure anyone has done a happiness study on retirement itself (if you know of one, post it in the comments).

So what do you think of France's predicament and what do you think of retirement? Since populations are increasing in average age all over the world, you may soon have to deal with this issue, even if you don't live in France. Also, I'm no expert on French politics, so if I'm missing anything important, be sure to let me know!