2.18 ndian onom
but only in a limited way—other things matter many more countries in the world will be taking
more: clues from Bhutan and the recently published two
(i) community trust, World Happiness Reports.
(ii) mental and physical health, and
(iii) the quality of governance and rule of law. InsIghts Into human BehavIour
Raising income can raise happiness, especially The World Bank in its latest report (World
in poor societies, but fostering cooperation and Development Report 2015: Mind, Society, and
community can do even more, especially in rich Behaviour) said that development policies
societies that have a low marginal utility of income. become more effective when combined with
It is no accident that the happiest countries in the insights into human behaviour. It further adds
world tend to be high-income countries that also that policy decisions informed by behavioural
have a high degree of social equality, trust and economics can deliver impressive improvements
quality of governance. In recent years, Denmark in promoting development and well-being in
has been topping the list. And it’s no accident that society. It sites some examples from India in the
the US has not experienced rise of life satisfaction areas of healthcare and education:
for half a century, a period in which inequality has Open defecation dropped 11 per cent
soared, social trust has declined, and the citizens have from very high levels after a Community-
lost faith in its government. Led Total Sanitation (CLTS) programme
It is, of course, one thing to identify the was combined in some chosen villages
correlates of happiness, and quite another to use with the standard approach of subsidies
public policies to bring about a society-wide for toilet construction and information
rise in happiness (or life satisfaction). That is the on the transmission of diseases.
goal of Bhutan’s GNH, and the motivation of The likelihood of default on loans became
an increasing number of governments dedicated three times less with a simple change in
to measuring happiness and life satisfaction in a the periodicity of meetings between
reliable and systematic way over time. The most microfinance clients and their repayment
basic goal is that by measuring happiness across a groups to weekly rather than monthly.
society over time, countries can avoid ‘happiness Research showed that boys from backward
traps’ such as in the USA in recent decades, where classes were just as good at solving puzzles
GNP may rise relentlessly while life satisfaction as boys from the upper castes when caste
stagnates or even declines. identity was not revealed. However, in
mixed-caste groups, revealing the boys’
The idea of GNH in Bhutan tells a story of castes before puzzle-solving sessions
exploration and progress since its King declared created a significant “caste gap” in
(1972) the goal of happiness over the goal of achievement with the boys from backward
wealth. For Bhutan happiness became much classes underperforming by 23 per cent
more than a guidepost or inspiration; it became (making caste salient to the test takers
an organising principle for governance and invoked identities, which in turn affected
policymaking as well. The ‘GNH Index’ is the performance, as per the report).
first of its kind in the world, a serious, thoughtful The Report has recommended that the presence
and sustained attempt to measure happiness, and of a stereotype can contribute to measured ability
use those measurements to chart the course of differences, which in turn reinforce the stereotype
public policy. It is believed that in coming years and serve as a basis for exclusion, in a vicious