To what Extend can a Measure of National Income (GDP) Give an Coursework

To what Extend can a Measure of National Income (GDP) Give an Indication on How Well a Population is Doing - Coursework Example These assumptions and suggestions from both sides will be analyzed as to which side is actually more capable to justify their stance. David Cameron, the British prime minister, stated at near the end of 2010 that happiness cannot be measured by money and that it was time when the humans gained some maturity and realize that money is not the most important thing in life and there are other factors such as family, culture and relationships which influence the happiness of a person (Stratton, 2010). What Mr. David Cameron and his advisors suggest here that rather than GDP, the Gross National Happiness (GNP) is a more accurate measure of the people’s happiness. The concept of GNH or Gross National Happiness was first introduced in 1972 by the Bhutanese King, Jigme Singye Wangchuck, who coined this term in an effort to ensure that the society was truly happy from inside and not just motivated by money. Research then started on this topic and there were several suggestions which com bined to form the satisfaction and happiness in a person’s life. ... forums, it has been argued that money is not the only contributing factor to wellness and happiness, but they admit that it is one of the most important factors. The argument, that there are more important things in life that contributes to the true development of humans, is based upon the simple observation that the richest countries in the world are not necessarily the happiest. Philippines is not a very rich country and their gross domestic product per capita is considered at around $3500 which makes it clear that there are economies and nations who have much higher GDP per capita than that of Philippines. If GDP would really have been the only contributor in the wellness and happiness of a person, then there would have been much happier nations around than Philippines. However, this is not true because the Filipinos are considered to be one of the happiest nations in the world and they are always smiling around very much satisfied with their life. The main reason of the happiness and satisfaction of their life despite their low GDP is the culture and the presence of their families. Philippines have a very collectivist lifestyle and they like to live with their families and prefer their own culture rather than adopting it from outside their community. When they get this culture, it is only fitting that they are happy in what they have. (Cassandra, 2010) Figure 1: United Kingdom GDP Growth Rate (Trading Economics, n.d.) The figure above, Figure 1, shows the changes in the gross domestic product in United Kingdom in the year 2011. The graph shows that the there were fluctuations in the GDP growth rate throughout the different quarters of financial year 2011-12. However, this does not necessarily means that the happiness and well being of the UK population was also