Paris:
Nobel Prize wining economists Amartya Sen and Joseph Stiglitz led a commission appointed by French President Nicolas Sarkozy to identify limits of current ways of measuring growth.
The report is out and says progress should be measured not just by the GDP but by the overall quality of peoples lives and the focus should not just be on how much people spend but what, how they feel.
The GDP of a country alone can't measure its wealth says the new report, and crime, environment, health care access and income inequality are factors that should be taken into account. Happiness and well being it says cannot be ignored.
"Nothing is as immediate as well being when we see each other we say, "how are you?" What is that about? That's not a philosophical question. It's to find out whether your life is going well," said Amartya Sen, Nobel Laureate.
For French President Nicolas Sarkozy, this method is revolutionary, it will help governments make the right policy decisions he says and also help fight and prevent global economic crisis by stressing on the impact of people's current well being on the future.
The idea of shifting emphasis from economic production to people's well being is one that the French President wants to push at the international level but it remains to be seen how keen the rest of the world will be to consider happiness and sustainability as serious indicators of social progress.
The report is out and says progress should be measured not just by the GDP but by the overall quality of peoples lives and the focus should not just be on how much people spend but what, how they feel.
The GDP of a country alone can't measure its wealth says the new report, and crime, environment, health care access and income inequality are factors that should be taken into account. Happiness and well being it says cannot be ignored.
"Nothing is as immediate as well being when we see each other we say, "how are you?" What is that about? That's not a philosophical question. It's to find out whether your life is going well," said Amartya Sen, Nobel Laureate.
For French President Nicolas Sarkozy, this method is revolutionary, it will help governments make the right policy decisions he says and also help fight and prevent global economic crisis by stressing on the impact of people's current well being on the future.
The idea of shifting emphasis from economic production to people's well being is one that the French President wants to push at the international level but it remains to be seen how keen the rest of the world will be to consider happiness and sustainability as serious indicators of social progress.
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