Transcript Jon Hall, Policy Specialist, Human Development Report Office, UNDP

From Capabilities to Contentment:
Links between Happiness and
Human Development
Jon Hall, HDRO, UNDP
Binocular Vision
A Spare Eye
A Wider Field of View
Spotting Faint Objects
Depth Perception
Happiness & Human
Development … Common Origins
“Our
metrics are important not just because they tell us how we
are doing but because they serve as guides in policy-making….
GDP measures the busy-ness of our economy. But the big
question is whether we are busy doing the right things. Making
your economy grow more will not necessarily get you the things
that people really want.
Our preoccupation with GDP makes it difficult for politicians to
back policies that are good for society and for the environment
but which might not result in an increase in GDP..”
Joseph Stiglitz
Nobel Laureate
Happiness & Human
Development … Strange
Bedfellows?
Happiness & Human
Development … Strange
Bedfellows?
“A grumbling rich man may well be less
happy than a contented peasant, but he
does have a higher standard of living than
that peasant”
Amartya Sen
Happiness & Human
Development … Strange
Bedfellows?
Our overall happiness - how we feel
about our lives - is what matters to
us most.
Richard Layard
Happiness & Human
Development can Help Each
Other
Measurable
Desirable
Human Development
Partially
Yes, by
definition
Life Satisfaction
Yes
Usually yes (but
not necessarily)
3
4
5
6
7
8
Life Satisfaction vs the HDI
.2
.4
.6
.8
Human Development Index (HDI)
95% CI
Overall Life Evaluation
Fitted values
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
Life Satisfaction vs the HDI – Controlling for Income
.2
.4
.6
Nonincome HDI
95% CI
Life Evaluation Net Effect of Income
.8
1
Fitted values
Life Satisfaction and its Correlates
HDI
Job
Satisfaction
Perceptions
of Safety
Economic
Conditions
Trust in
Government
Government
Effectiveness
Freedom
of choice
Inequality
Coefficient
4.813***
6.305***
1.685***
1.08*
-0.595
0.818***
4.454***
-6.027***
Constant
2.167***
0.705*
4.342***
5.00***
5.734***
5.429***
2.208***
6.694***
Adj- RSq
0.584
0.599
0.049
0.02
0.002
0.535
0.312
0.335
N.
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It is better to be blind than to see things only
from one point of view
Indian Proverb