American City Also Getting into the Happiness Measurement Game

A look at Somerville. From CNN.

Yes, America may not be interested in measuring Gross National Happiness right now, but that doesn't stop cities from trying it on their own. The Christian Science Monitor reports that Somerville, Massachusetts included a life satisfaction survey with its annual census. The ten-question survey went out to 80,000 citizens in February.

Some households will also receive more detailed phone interviews. After the results are tabulated, they will be presented at town hall meetings, where citizens can decide how to use them. City officials hope to create a happiness index after a few more years of data.

Mayor Joseph Curtatone started the initiative to learn what factors influence people to live in certain areas. He says, "I don't rely just on the financial numbers. [That] doesn't tell you why your family decides to stay here."

One other U.S. city that has tried happiness initiatives is Seattle, but that survey was conducted by a non-profit organization, not the government. As always, you can stay up to date about all the multitude of governments that are trying out Bhutan-like happiness measures by clicking on my Gross National Happiness tag.

Charity May Depend More on Happiness than Wealth

From Need Magazine

Aaaaaand we're back to our weekday schedule. Hopefully you enjoyed our weekend features. If not, we can always improve them! This blog is still a newborn, so post a comment if you have suggestions to help it past its toddler phase, and eventually its awkward teenage years. Only YOU can help this blog grow into a happy, well-adjusted adult!

Now for the news: Clayton Jones of The Christian Science Monitor reports that a country's average level of charity depends more on its happiness than on its wealth. This information comes from a Gallup survey called "The World Giving Index 2010". The survey asked the following questions in 153 countries:

Which of the following three charitable acts have you undertaken in the past month:

1. Donated money to an organization?

2. Volunteered time to an organization?

3. Helped a stranger, or someone you didn’t know who needed help?

Gallup then compared the answers to indexes of wealth and happiness. Assuming people answered honestly (usually when huge numbers of people are surveyed, honest people outweigh the fibbers), a surprising number of economically poor countries are generous. Sierra Leone, for instance, ranks as the ninth most generous country in the world, even though it is the third lowest country on the Human Development Index.

So if you follow positive psychology tips to become happier, you may become more generous, and becoming more generous may make you happier, and so on! It's win-win!