25.4.15

Unhappy India!


Already rated an unhappy place in 2014 with a ranking of 111, India dropped six places to 117 out of 158 countries ranked in the 2015 list, which took into account data from 2012-2015, and was as usual was dominated by wealthy Nordic nations.
Switzerland displaced Denmark from first place. Iceland, recovering from its economic meltdown, was placed second. Denmark, Norway , and Canada rounded off the top five. The US came 15th and China was ranked at 84.
The bottom 10 were crisis states, wracked by disease or war: Chad, Guinea, Ivory Coast, Burkina Faso, Afghanistan, Rwanda, Benin, Syria, Burundi and Togo. At 81 and 109, Pakistan and Bangladesh, respectively, are positioned happier than India.
South Asia broadly features in the bottom half. Bhutan, which prides itself on its Gross National Happiness index, is best placed at 79. Pakistan ranked a surprising 81st (better than even China) considering the near-constant turmoil in the country.Even Bangladesh (109) fared better than India. Only Nepal (121) and Sri Lanka (132) were considered bleaker.
Why India, which is generally considered a country with great promise and a bright future is ranked so poorly, while countries with aging population and declining economic growth are ranked higher, is not hard to fathom.
The index considers current conditions and also takes into account not just economic measures, but also positive social relations, characterized by values such as trust, benevolence and shared social identities that contribute positively to economic outcomes as well as delivering happiness directly .
Pro-social behavior, including honesty , benevolence, cooperation, and trustworthiness, entails individuals making decisions for the common good that may conflict with short-run egoistic incentives, the report explains.
Countries that are at the top of the rankings show evidence of high social capital, while those at the bottom show the opposite: generalized distrust, pervasive corruption, and lawless behavior (e.g. widespread tax evasion that deprives the government of the needed funds to invest in public goods).


No comments: