BHUTAN- GROSS NATIONAL HAPPINESS FEATURE – DEVELOPMENT INDICATORS
April 1st, 2006
BY KENCHO WANGDI, in Thimphu, Bhutan
WHAT is happiness, really? In conventional development theory, it equals money and prosperity, as measured by GNP (Gross National Product).
But Bhutan, the famously remote and beautiful Buddhist kingdom in the Himalayas, has been trying out a different concept. Espoused by the country's King Jigme Singye Wangchuck, its government uses a different standard called GNH, or Gross National Happiness. It has underpinned the country's approach to change and development.
After centuries of self-imposed isolation, Bhutan opened its ...
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