<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"> <html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="ur-pk" lang="ur-pk"><head> <base href="/news/others/2608-bhutan-advocates-happiness-as-measure-of-economic-growth"/> <meta http-equiv="content-type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8"/> <meta name="robots" content="index, follow"/> <meta name="keywords" content="Bhutan Advocates Happiness As Measure of Economic Growth, Bhutan, Ron Corben"/> <meta name="title" content="Bhutan Advocates Happiness As Measure of Economic Growth"/> <meta name="author" content="Vitri"/> <meta name="description" content="This week the UN held its first ever conference on happiness and wellbeing its New York headquarters. The conference brought together hundreds of government representatives, academics, and civic leaders to endorse the importance of happiness as a part of public policy. "/> <meta name="generator" content="Joomla! 1.5 - Open Source Content Management"/> <title>Bhutan Advocates Happiness As Measure of Economic Growth</title> <link href="/ur/component/jcomments/task=rss&object_id=2608&object_group=com_content&tmpl=component" rel="alternate" type="application/rss+xml" title="Bhutan Advocates Happiness As Measure of Economic Growth"/> <link href="/templates/ja_vauxite/favicon.ico" rel="shortcut icon" type="image/x-icon"/> <link rel="stylesheet" href="/components/com_jcomments/tpl/default/style.cssv=10" type="text/css"/> <link rel="stylesheet" href="/modules/mod_dropin/dropstyles/blue.css" type="text/css"/> <link rel="stylesheet" href="/modules/mod_jflanguageselection/tmpl/mod_jflanguageselection.css" type="text/css"/> <script type="text/javascript" src="/components/com_jcomments/js/jcomments-v2.1.jsv=2"></script> <script type="text/javascript" src="/components/com_jcomments/libraries/joomlatune/ajax.js"></script> <script type="text/javascript" src="/media/system/js/mootools.js"></script> <script type="text/javascript" src="/media/system/js/caption.js"></script> <script type="text/javascript" src="http://connect.facebook.net/en_US/all.js#xfbml=1"></script> <script type="text/javascript" src="http://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js"></script> <script src="/plugins/content/1pixelout/audio-player.js" type="text/javascript"></script> <script type="text/javascript" src="/plugins/content/ja_tabs/ja_tabs.js" charset="utf-8"></script> <link type="text/css" href="/plugins/content/ja_tabs/ja_tabs.css" rel="stylesheet"/> <meta property="og:description" content="This week the UN held its first ever conference on happiness and wellbeing its New York headquarters. The conference brought together hundreds of government representatives, academics, and civic leaders to endorse the importance of happiness as a part of public policy. "/> <meta property="og:image" content="images/stories/demo/ac/bhutan_economy_web_120407.jpg"/> <meta property="fb:admins" content=""/> <meta property="fb:app_id" content=""/> <meta property="og:title" content="Bhutan Advocates Happiness As Measure of Economic Growth"/> <meta property="og:url" content="/ur/news/others/2608-bhutan-advocates-happiness-as-measure-of-economic-growth"/> <meta property="og:site_name" content=""/> <meta property="og:locale" content="en_US"/> <script language="javascript" type="text/javascript"> // Drop-in content box- By Dynamic Drive // For full source code and more DHTML scripts, visit http://www.dynamicdrive.com // This credit MUST stay intact for use // Modifications by WebsiteDons.com - Autohide, Frequency re-configuration var freq="always" var autohide=["no", 6] if (parseInt(freq)!=NaN) var random_num=Math.floor(Math.random()*freq) var ie=document.all var dom=document.getElementById var ns4=document.layers var calunits=document.layers? "" : "px" var bouncelimit="32" var direction="up" function initbox(){ if (!dom&&!ie&&!ns4) return crossobj=(dom)?document.getElementById("dropin").style : ie? document.all.dropin : document.dropin scroll_top=(ie)? truebody().scrollTop : window.pageYOffset crossobj.top=scroll_top-250+calunits crossobj.visibility=(dom||ie)? "visible" : "show" dropstart=setInterval("dropin()",50) autoclose() } function dropin(){ scroll_top=(ie)? truebody().scrollTop : window.pageYOffset if (parseInt(crossobj.top)<100+scroll_top) crossobj.top=parseInt(crossobj.top)+40+calunits else{ clearInterval(dropstart) bouncestart=setInterval("bouncein()",50) autoclose() } } function bouncein(){ crossobj.top=parseInt(crossobj.top)-bouncelimit+calunits if (bouncelimit<0) bouncelimit+=8 bouncelimit=bouncelimit*-1 if (bouncelimit==0){ clearInterval(bouncestart) autoclose() } } function dismissbox(){ if (window.bouncestart) clearInterval(bouncestart) crossobj.visibility="hidden" } function autoclose(){ if (autohide[0]=="yes"){ setTimeout("dismissbox()", autohide[1]*1000) } } function dropwin(){ bouncelimit=32 direction="up" initbox() } function truebody(){ return (document.compatMode && document.compatMode!="BackCompat")? document.documentElement : document.body } function get_cookie(Name) { var search = Name + "=" var returnvalue = "" if (document.cookie.length > 0) { offset = document.cookie.indexOf(search) if (offset != -1) { offset += search.length end = document.cookie.indexOf(";", offset) if (end == -1) end = document.cookie.length; returnvalue=unescape(document.cookie.substring(offset, end)) } } return returnvalue; } if (freq=="oncepersession" && get_cookie("dropinmod")=="" || freq=="always" || parseInt(freq)!=NaN && random_num==0){ if (document.getElementById || document.all) window.onload=initbox if (freq=="oncepersession") document.cookie="dropinmod=yes" if (freq=="never") initibox() } </script> <link rel="stylesheet" href="/templates/system/css/system.css" type="text/css"/> <link rel="stylesheet" href="/templates/system/css/general.css" type="text/css"/> <link rel="stylesheet" href="/templates/ja_vauxite/css/editor.css" type="text/css"/> <link rel="stylesheet" href="/templates/ja_vauxite/css/typo.css" type="text/css"/> <script language="javascript" type="text/javascript" src="/templates/ja_vauxite/js/ja.script.js"></script> <script language="javascript" type="text/javascript"> var siteurl = '/'; var tmplurl = '/templates/ja_vauxite'; </script> <!-- Menu head --> <link href="/templates/ja_vauxite/ja_menus/ja_scriptdlmenu/ja.scriptdlmenu.css" rel="stylesheet" type="text/css"/> <script src="/templates/ja_vauxite/ja_menus/ja_scriptdlmenu/ja.scriptdlmenu.js" language="javascript" type="text/javascript"></script> <link rel="stylesheet" href="/templates/ja_vauxite/css/template.css" type="text/css"/> <link href="/templates/ja_vauxite/css/colors/red.css" rel="stylesheet" type="text/css"/> <!--[if lte IE 6]> <style type="text/css"> .clearfix {height: 1%;} img {border: none;} #ja-cpanel-tools{ filter:progid:DXImageTransform.Microsoft.AlphaImageLoader(enabled=true, src=../images/ja-cpanel-switcher.png, sizingMethod=image); } </style> <![endif]--> <!--[if gte IE 7.0]> <style type="text/css"> .clearfix {display: inline-block;} </style> <![endif]--> <!--[if gt IE 7]> <link href="/templates/ja_vauxite/css/ie8.css" rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" /> <![endif]--> <script type="text/javascript"> function resetall () { createCookie('ja_vauxite_ja_color','red', 365); createCookie('ja_vauxite_ja_layout','leftlayout', 365); createCookie('ja_vauxite_ja_screen','wide', 365); createCookie('ja_vauxite_ja_modfunc',0, 365); createCookie('ja-ordercolumn','-', 365); createCookie('ja_vauxite_ja_font',3, 365); window.location.reload(); } </script> </head> <body id="bd" class="leftlayout wide fs3"> <a name="Top" id="Top"></a> <ul class="accessibility"> <li><a href="/news/others/2608-bhutan-advocates-happiness-as-measure-of-economic-growthlang=ur" title="Skip to content">Skip to content</a></li> <li><a href="/news/others/2608-bhutan-advocates-happiness-as-measure-of-economic-growthlang=ur" title="Skip to main navigation">Skip to main navigation</a></li> <li><a href="/news/others/2608-bhutan-advocates-happiness-as-measure-of-economic-growthlang=ur" title="Skip to 1st column">Skip to 1st column</a></li> <li><a href="/news/others/2608-bhutan-advocates-happiness-as-measure-of-economic-growthlang=ur" title="Skip to 2nd column">Skip to 2nd column</a></li> </ul> <!-- BEGIN: HEADER --> <div id="ja-headerwrap"> <div id="ja-header" class="clearfix"> <h1 class="logo"> <a href="/index.php" title="AsiaCalling"><span>AsiaCalling</span></a> </h1> <div id="ja-search"> <div id="jflanguageselection"><div class="rawimages"><span><a href="/in/berita/negara-lain/2608-bhutan-advocates-happiness-as-measure-of-economic-growth"><img src="/components/com_joomfish/images/flags/in.gif" alt="Indonesian (ID)" title="Indonesian (ID)"/></a></span><span><a href="/en/news/others/2608-bhutan-advocates-happiness-as-measure-of-economic-growth"><img src="/components/com_joomfish/images/flags/en.gif" alt="English (United Kingdom)" title="English (United Kingdom)"/></a></span><span><a href="/bn/news/others/2608-bhutan-advocates-happiness-as-measure-of-economic-growth"><img src="/components/com_joomfish/images/flags/bn.gif" alt="Bengali(Bangladesh)" title="Bengali(Bangladesh)"/></a></span><span><a href="/km/news/others/2608-bhutan-advocates-happiness-as-measure-of-economic-growth"><img src="/components/com_joomfish/images/flags/km.gif" alt="Khmer (Cambodia)" title="Khmer (Cambodia)"/></a></span><span id="active_language"><a href="/ur/news/others/2608-bhutan-advocates-happiness-as-measure-of-economic-growth"><img src="/components/com_joomfish/images/flags/ur.gif" alt="Urdu Pakistan (اردو)" title="Urdu Pakistan (اردو)"/></a></span></div></div><!--Joom!fish V2.0.2 ()--> <!-- © 2003-2009 Think Network, released under the GPL. --> <!-- More information: at http://www.joomfish.net --> </div> </div> </div> <!-- END: HEADER --> <!-- BEGIN: MAIN NAVIGATION --> <div id="ja-mainnavwrap"> <div id="ja-mainnav" class="clearfix"> <div id="jasdl-mainnav"><ul><li id="jasdl-mainnav248"><a href="/" class="menu-item0 first-item" id="menu248" title="Home"><span class="menu-title">Home</span></a></li><li id="jasdl-mainnav202"><a href="/ur/news" class="menu-item1 active" id="menu202" title="News"><span class="menu-title">News</span></a></li><li id="jasdl-mainnav359"><a href="/ur/special-reports" class="menu-item2" id="menu359" title="Special Reports"><span class="menu-title">Special Reports</span></a></li><li id="jasdl-mainnav181"><a href="/ur/listen" class="menu-item3" id="menu181" title="Listen"><span class="menu-title">Listen</span></a></li><li id="jasdl-mainnav176"><a href="/ur/tune-in" class="menu-item4" id="menu176" title="Tune In"><span class="menu-title">Tune In</span></a></li><li id="jasdl-mainnav206"><a href="/ur/links" class="menu-item5" id="menu206" title="Links"><span class="menu-title">Links</span></a></li><li id="jasdl-mainnav166"><a href="/ur/about-us" class="menu-item6" id="menu166" title="About Us"><span class="menu-title">About Us</span></a></li><li id="jasdl-mainnav471"><a href="/ur/learn-english" class="menu-item7" id="menu471" title="Learn English"><span class="menu-title">Learn English</span></a></li><li id="jasdl-mainnav390"><a href="/ur/archives" class="menu-item8" id="menu390" title="Archives"><span class="menu-title">Archives</span></a></li><li id="jasdl-mainnav492"><a href="/ur/asia-forum" class="menu-item9 last-item" id="menu492" title="Asia Calling Forum"><span class="menu-title">Asia Calling Forum</span></a></li></ul></div> <script type="text/javascript"> var jasdl_activemenu = new Array(202,388); </script> </div> </div> <div id="ja-subnavwrap"> <div id="ja-subnav" class="clearfix"> <div id="jasdl-subnav"><ul id="jasdl-subnav202"><li id="jasdl-subnavitem263"><a href="/ur/news/indonesia" class=" first-item" id="menu263" title="Indonesia"><span class="menu-title">Indonesia</span></a></li><li id="jasdl-subnavitem445"><a href="/ur/news/timor-leste" id="menu445" title="Timor Leste"><span class="menu-title">Timor Leste</span></a></li><li id="jasdl-subnavitem443"><a href="/ur/news/north-korea" id="menu443" title="North Korea"><span class="menu-title">North Korea</span></a></li><li id="jasdl-subnavitem442"><a href="/ur/news/japan" id="menu442" title="Japan"><span class="menu-title">Japan</span></a></li><li id="jasdl-subnavitem441"><a href="/ur/news/nepal" id="menu441" title="Nepal"><span class="menu-title">Nepal</span></a></li><li id="jasdl-subnavitem436"><a href="/ur/news/malaysia" id="menu436" title="Malaysia"><span class="menu-title">Malaysia</span></a></li><li id="jasdl-subnavitem382"><a href="/ur/news/thailand" id="menu382" title="Thailand"><span class="menu-title">Thailand</span></a></li><li id="jasdl-subnavitem380"><a href="/ur/news/philippines" id="menu380" title="Philippines"><span class="menu-title">Philippines</span></a></li><li id="jasdl-subnavitem384"><a href="/ur/news/vietnam" id="menu384" title="Vietnam"><span class="menu-title">Vietnam</span></a></li><li id="jasdl-subnavitem385"><a href="/ur/news/cambodia" id="menu385" title="Cambodia"><span class="menu-title">Cambodia</span></a></li><li id="jasdl-subnavitem204"><a href="/ur/news/china" id="menu204" title="China"><span class="menu-title">China</span></a></li><li id="jasdl-subnavitem378"><a href="/ur/news/south-korea" id="menu378" title="South Korea"><span class="menu-title">South Korea</span></a></li><li id="jasdl-subnavitem372"><a href="/ur/news/sri-lanka" id="menu372" title="Sri Lanka"><span class="menu-title">Sri Lanka</span></a></li><li id="jasdl-subnavitem379"><a href="/ur/news/afghanistan" id="menu379" title="Afghanistan"><span class="menu-title">Afghanistan</span></a></li><li id="jasdl-subnavitem386"><a href="/ur/news/pakistan" id="menu386" title="Pakistan"><span class="menu-title">Pakistan</span></a></li><li id="jasdl-subnavitem377"><a href="/ur/news/bangladesh" id="menu377" title="Bangladesh"><span class="menu-title">Bangladesh</span></a></li><li id="jasdl-subnavitem374"><a href="/ur/news/india" id="menu374" title="India"><span class="menu-title">India</span></a></li><li id="jasdl-subnavitem373"><a href="/ur/news/burma" id="menu373" title="Burma"><span class="menu-title">Burma</span></a></li><li id="jasdl-subnavitem387"><a href="/ur/news/australia" id="menu387" title="Australia"><span class="menu-title">Australia</span></a></li><li id="jasdl-subnavitem420"><a href="/ur/news/laos" id="menu420" title="Laos"><span class="menu-title">Laos</span></a></li><li id="jasdl-subnavitem388"><a href="/ur/news/others" class=" active" id="menu388" title="Others"><span class="menu-title">Others</span></a></li><li id="jasdl-subnavitem485"><a href="/urItemid=485&option=" id="menu485" title="Quiz"><span class="menu-title">Quiz</span></a></li><li id="jasdl-subnavitem417"><a href="/ur/news/asia-calling-video" class=" last-item" id="menu417" title="Asia Calling Video"><span class="menu-title">Asia Calling Video</span></a></li></ul><ul id="jasdl-subnav359"><li id="jasdl-subnavitem500"><a href="/ur/special-reports/indonesia-migrant-workers" class=" first-item" id="menu500" title="Indonesia Migrant Workers"><span class="menu-title">Indonesia Migrant Workers</span></a></li><li id="jasdl-subnavitem499"><a href="/ur/special-reports/sex-workers-stories-from-across-asia" id="menu499" title="Sex workers stories from across asia"><span class="menu-title">Sex workers stories from across asia</span></a></li><li id="jasdl-subnavitem498"><a href="/ur/special-reports/indian-music-rocks-the-world" id="menu498" title="Indian music rocks the world"><span class="menu-title">Indian music rocks the world</span></a></li><li id="jasdl-subnavitem491"><a href="/ur/special-reports/a-circle-of-violence-in-khasmir" id="menu491" title="A Circle of Violence in Khasmir"><span class="menu-title">A Circle of Violence in Khasmir</span></a></li><li id="jasdl-subnavitem490"><a href="/ur/special-reports/a-rare-glimpse-inside-bangladesh-tea-estates" id="menu490" title="A Rare Glimpse Inside Bangladesh Tea Estates"><span class="menu-title">A Rare Glimpse Inside Bangladesh Tea Estates</span></a></li><li id="jasdl-subnavitem488"><a href="/ur/special-reports/inside-burma-ahead-of-the-election" id="menu488" title="Inside Burma Ahead of the Election"><span class="menu-title">Inside Burma Ahead of the Election</span></a></li><li id="jasdl-subnavitem486"><a href="/ur/special-reports/private-security-a-booming-industry-in-asia" id="menu486" title="Private Security a Booming Industry in Asia"><span class="menu-title">Private Security a Booming Industry in Asia</span></a></li><li id="jasdl-subnavitem484"><a href="/ur/special-reports/north-koreas-ties-with-china" id="menu484" title="North Korea’s ties with China"><span class="menu-title">North Korea’s ties with China</span></a></li><li id="jasdl-subnavitem483"><a href="/ur/special-reports/life-in-kerala-india" id="menu483" title="Life in Kerala India"><span class="menu-title">Life in Kerala India</span></a></li><li id="jasdl-subnavitem482"><a href="/ur/special-reports/dying-for-music-in-pakistans-frontier-province" id="menu482" title="Dying for Music in Pakistan’s Frontier Province"><span class="menu-title">Dying for Music in Pakistan’s Frontier Province</span></a></li><li id="jasdl-subnavitem481"><a href="/ur/special-reports/desperate-nurses-in-bangladesh" id="menu481" title="Desperate Nurses in Bangladesh"><span class="menu-title">Desperate Nurses in Bangladesh</span></a></li><li id="jasdl-subnavitem480"><a href="/ur/special-reports/nepal-feels-the-heat-of-climate-change" id="menu480" title="Nepal feels the heat of Climate Change"><span class="menu-title">Nepal feels the heat of Climate Change</span></a></li><li id="jasdl-subnavitem479"><a href="/ur/special-reports/shangrila-made-in-china" id="menu479" title="Shangrila Made in China"><span class="menu-title">Shangrila Made in China</span></a></li><li id="jasdl-subnavitem478"><a href="/ur/special-reports/burmas-controversial-election" id="menu478" title="Burma’s Controversial Election"><span class="menu-title">Burma’s Controversial Election</span></a></li><li id="jasdl-subnavitem477"><a href="/ur/special-reports/after-the-war-the-hard-work-begins-in-sri-lanka" id="menu477" title="After the war the hard work begins in Sri Lanka"><span class="menu-title">After the war the hard work begins in Sri Lanka</span></a></li><li id="jasdl-subnavitem458"><a href="/ur/special-reports/bangladesh-battles-its-past-and-future" id="menu458" title="Bangladesh Battles its Past and Future"><span class="menu-title">Bangladesh Battles its Past and Future</span></a></li><li id="jasdl-subnavitem455"><a href="/ur/special-reports/inside-laos-the-battery-of-south-east-asia-" id="menu455" title="Inside Laos ‘the battery’ of South East Asia"><span class="menu-title">Inside Laos ‘the battery’ of South East Asia</span></a></li><li id="jasdl-subnavitem453"><a href="/ur/special-reports/the-amazon-of-the-sea-under-threat" id="menu453" title="The Amazon of the Sea Under Threat"><span class="menu-title">The Amazon of the Sea Under Threat</span></a></li><li id="jasdl-subnavitem454"><a href="/ur/special-reports/indonesia-citarum-river" id="menu454" title="Indonesia Citarum River"><span class="menu-title">Indonesia Citarum River</span></a></li><li id="jasdl-subnavitem450"><a href="/ur/special-reports/last-tango-in-tokyo-for-japanese-migrants" id="menu450" title="Last Tango in Tokyo for Japanese Migrants"><span class="menu-title">Last Tango in Tokyo for Japanese Migrants</span></a></li><li id="jasdl-subnavitem449"><a href="/ur/special-reports/on-vietnams-coast-bigger-is-betteror-is-it" id="menu449" title="On Vietnam’s coast, bigger is better...or is it?"><span class="menu-title">On Vietnam’s coast, bigger is better...or is it?</span></a></li><li id="jasdl-subnavitem448"><a href="/ur/special-reports/kashmirs-cultural-revival-" id="menu448" title="Kashmir’s Cultural Revival"><span class="menu-title">Kashmir’s Cultural Revival</span></a></li><li id="jasdl-subnavitem447"><a href="/ur/special-reports/rohingya-journey" id="menu447" title="Rohingya Journey"><span class="menu-title">Rohingya Journey</span></a></li><li id="jasdl-subnavitem446"><a href="/ur/special-reports/dreamtime-wisdom-and-modern-vision-of-aboriginal" id="menu446" title="Dreamtime Wisdom and Modern Vision of Aboriginal"><span class="menu-title">Dreamtime Wisdom and Modern Vision of Aboriginal</span></a></li><li id="jasdl-subnavitem431"><a href="/ur/special-reports/living-with-nature" id="menu431" title="Living with nature"><span class="menu-title">Living with nature</span></a></li><li id="jasdl-subnavitem430"><a href="/ur/special-reports/education-in-south-thailand-engulfed-in-fear" id="menu430" title="Education in South Thailand Engulfed in Fear"><span class="menu-title">Education in South Thailand Engulfed in Fear</span></a></li><li id="jasdl-subnavitem429"><a href="/ur/special-reports/earth-under-threat-the-impact-of-climate-change" id="menu429" title="Earth under threat: the impact of climate change"><span class="menu-title">Earth under threat: the impact of climate change</span></a></li><li id="jasdl-subnavitem428"><a href="/ur/special-reports/earth-under-threatsolutions-to-slow-climate-change" id="menu428" title="Earth under threat:solutions to slow climate change"><span class="menu-title">Earth under threat:solutions to slow climate change</span></a></li><li id="jasdl-subnavitem427"><a href="/ur/special-reports/mindanao-muddle-insight-into-the-conflict" id="menu427" title="Mindanao Muddle : Insight into the conflict"><span class="menu-title">Mindanao Muddle : Insight into the conflict</span></a></li><li id="jasdl-subnavitem426"><a href="/ur/special-reports/changing-cambodia-the-winners-and-losers" id="menu426" title="Changing Cambodia: The Winners and Losers"><span class="menu-title">Changing Cambodia: The Winners and Losers</span></a></li><li id="jasdl-subnavitem432"><a href="/ur/special-reports/inspiring-women" id="menu432" title="Inspiring Women"><span class="menu-title">Inspiring Women</span></a></li><li id="jasdl-subnavitem424"><a href="/ur/special-reports/the-unsung-heros-of-burmas-cyclone-relief-effort" id="menu424" title="The unsung heros of Burma's cyclone relief effort"><span class="menu-title">The unsung heros of Burma's cyclone relief effort</span></a></li><li id="jasdl-subnavitem425"><a href="/ur/special-reports/the-rising-price-of-food-across-asia-what-has-gone-wrong" id="menu425" title="The Rising Price of Food Across Asia: What Has Gone Wrong"><span class="menu-title">The Rising Price of Food Across Asia: What Has Gone Wrong</span></a></li><li id="jasdl-subnavitem421"><a href="/ur/special-reports/the-frontline-victims-of-the-war-on-terror" id="menu421" title="The frontline victims of the war on terror"><span class="menu-title">The frontline victims of the war on terror</span></a></li><li id="jasdl-subnavitem422"><a href="/ur/special-reports/the-murky-world-of-coal-mining-in-china" id="menu422" title="The murky world of coal mining in China"><span class="menu-title">The murky world of coal mining in China</span></a></li><li id="jasdl-subnavitem423"><a href="/ur/special-reports/life-on-the-border-exile-burmese-in-thailand" id="menu423" title="Life on the Border: Exile Burmese in Thailand"><span class="menu-title">Life on the Border: Exile Burmese in Thailand</span></a></li><li id="jasdl-subnavitem501"><a href="/ur/special-reports/indonesias-mega-food-estate" id="menu501" title="Indonesia's Mega Food Estate"><span class="menu-title">Indonesia's Mega Food Estate</span></a></li><li id="jasdl-subnavitem502"><a href="/ur/special-reports/north-koreas-heir-apparent" id="menu502" title="North Korea’s Heir apparent"><span class="menu-title">North Korea’s Heir apparent</span></a></li><li id="jasdl-subnavitem504"><a href="/ur/special-reports/pakistan-eunuchs-finally-recognized-as-citizens" class=" last-item" id="menu504" title="Pakistan Eunuchs finally recognized as citizens"><span class="menu-title">Pakistan Eunuchs finally recognized as citizens</span></a></li></ul><ul id="jasdl-subnav181"><li id="jasdl-subnavitem517"><a href="/ur/listen/january-december-2013" class=" first-item" id="menu517" title="January - December 2013"><span class="menu-title">January - December 2013</span></a></li><li id="jasdl-subnavitem513"><a href="/ur/listen/january-december-2012" id="menu513" title="January - December 2012"><span class="menu-title">January - December 2012</span></a></li><li id="jasdl-subnavitem496"><a href="/ur/listen/january-december-2011" id="menu496" title="January - December 2011"><span class="menu-title">January - December 2011</span></a></li><li id="jasdl-subnavitem452"><a href="/ur/listen/january-september-2010" id="menu452" title="January - December 2010"><span class="menu-title">January - December 2010</span></a></li><li id="jasdl-subnavitem451"><a href="/ur/listen/oktober-desember-2009" id="menu451" title="Oktober - Desember 2009"><span class="menu-title">Oktober - Desember 2009</span></a></li><li id="jasdl-subnavitem444"><a href="/ur/listen/july-september-2009" id="menu444" title="July - September 2009"><span class="menu-title">July - September 2009</span></a></li><li id="jasdl-subnavitem439"><a href="/ur/listen/april-june-2009" id="menu439" title="April - June 2009"><span class="menu-title">April - June 2009</span></a></li><li id="jasdl-subnavitem396"><a href="/ur/listen/podcast" id="menu396" title="January - March 2009"><span class="menu-title">January - March 2009</span></a></li><li id="jasdl-subnavitem404"><a href="/ur/listen/oktober-desember-2008" id="menu404" title="October - December 2008"><span class="menu-title">October - December 2008</span></a></li><li id="jasdl-subnavitem405"><a href="/ur/listen/july-september-2008" id="menu405" title="July - September 2008"><span class="menu-title">July - September 2008</span></a></li><li id="jasdl-subnavitem406"><a href="/ur/listen/april-june-2008" id="menu406" title="April - June 2008"><span class="menu-title">April - June 2008</span></a></li><li id="jasdl-subnavitem407"><a href="/ur/listen/january-march-2008" id="menu407" title="January - March 2008"><span class="menu-title">January - March 2008</span></a></li><li id="jasdl-subnavitem408"><a href="/ur/listen/october-december-2007" id="menu408" title="October - December 2007"><span class="menu-title">October - December 2007</span></a></li><li id="jasdl-subnavitem412"><a href="/ur/listen/july-september-2007" id="menu412" title="July - September 2007"><span class="menu-title">July - September 2007</span></a></li><li id="jasdl-subnavitem413"><a href="/ur/listen/april-june-2007" id="menu413" title="April - June 2007"><span class="menu-title">April - June 2007</span></a></li><li id="jasdl-subnavitem518"><a href="/ur/listen/january-december-2013" class=" last-item" id="menu518" title="January - December 2013"><span class="menu-title">January - December 2013</span></a></li></ul><ul id="jasdl-subnav176"><li id="jasdl-subnavitem177"><a href="/ur/tune-in/stations-in-asia" class=" first-item" id="menu177" title="Stations in Asia"><span class="menu-title">Stations in Asia</span></a></li><li id="jasdl-subnavitem178"><a href="/ur/tune-in/stations-in-indonesia" class=" last-item" id="menu178" title="Stations in Indonesia"><span class="menu-title">Stations in Indonesia</span></a></li></ul><ul id="jasdl-subnav166"><li id="jasdl-subnavitem167"><a href="/ur/about-us/asia-calling-a-kbr68h" class=" first-item" id="menu167" title="Asia Calling & KBR68H"><span class="menu-title">Asia Calling & KBR68H</span></a></li><li id="jasdl-subnavitem168"><a href="/ur/about-us/producers" id="menu168" title="Producers"><span class="menu-title">Producers</span></a></li><li id="jasdl-subnavitem169"><a href="/ur/about-us/correspondents" id="menu169" title="Correspondents"><span class="menu-title">Correspondents</span></a></li><li id="jasdl-subnavitem370"><a href="/ur/about-us/media-development" id="menu370" title="Media Development"><span class="menu-title">Media Development</span></a></li><li id="jasdl-subnavitem495"><a href="/ur/about-us/partner-station" id="menu495" title="Regional Partners"><span class="menu-title">Regional Partners</span></a></li><li id="jasdl-subnavitem506"><a href="/ur/about-us/media-partner" class=" last-item" id="menu506" title="Media Partner"><span class="menu-title">Media Partner</span></a></li></ul><ul id="jasdl-subnav471"><li id="jasdl-subnavitem472"><a href="/ur/learn-english/learn-now" class=" first-item" id="menu472" title="Learn Now!"><span class="menu-title">Learn Now!</span></a></li><li id="jasdl-subnavitem505"><a href="/ur/learn-english/asia-music" id="menu505" title="Asia Music"><span class="menu-title">Asia Music</span></a></li><li id="jasdl-subnavitem497"><a href="http://www.radioforeducation.org/" target="_blank" class=" last-item" id="menu497" title="Blog: radioforeducation.org"><span class="menu-title">Blog: radioforeducation.org</span></a></li></ul><ul id="jasdl-subnav492"><li id="jasdl-subnavitem493"><a href="/ur/asia-forum/asia-forum-2010" class=" first-item" id="menu493" title="Asia Forum 2010"><span class="menu-title">Asia Forum 2010</span></a></li></ul></div></div> </div> <!-- END: MAIN NAVIGATION --> <div id="ja-containerwrap-cm" class="clearfix"> <div id="ja-container" class="clearfix"> <!-- BEGIN: CONTENT --> <div id="ja-content"> <div id="ja-current-content"> <div class="ja-wrap-center"><div class="ja-wrap-top"><div class="ja-wrap-bot"> <div id="ja-pathway"> <span class="breadcrumbs pathway"> <a href="/" class="pathway">Home</a> <img src="/images/M_images/arrow_rtl.png" alt=""/> <a href="/ur/news" class="pathway">News</a> <img src="/images/M_images/arrow_rtl.png" alt=""/> <a href="/ur/news/others" class="pathway">Others</a> <img src="/images/M_images/arrow_rtl.png" alt=""/> Bhutan Advocates Happiness As Measure of Economic Growth</span> </div> <h2 class="contentheading"> Bhutan Advocates Happiness As Measure of Economic Growth </h2> <div class="article-toolswrap"> <div class="article-tools clearfix"> <div class="article-meta"> <span class="createdate"> ہفتہ, 07 اپریل 2012 10:30 </span> <span class="createby"> Ron Corben </span> </div> <div class="buttonheading"> <span> <a href="/ur/component/mailto/tmpl=component&link=aHR0cDovL3d3dy5hc2lhY2FsbGluZy5vcmcvdXIvbmV3cy9vdGhlcnMvMjYwOC1iaHV0YW4tYWR2b2NhdGVzLWhhcHBpbmVzcy1hcy1tZWFzdXJlLW9mLWVjb25vbWljLWdyb3d0aA==" title="ای میل" onclick="window.open(this.href,'win2','width=400,height=350,menubar=yes,resizable=yes'); return false;"><img src="/templates/ja_vauxite/images/emailButton.png" alt="ای میل"/></a> </span> <span> <a href="/ur/news/others/2608-bhutan-advocates-happiness-as-measure-of-economic-growth?tmpl=component&print=1&layout=default&page=" title="چھاپیے" onclick="window.open(this.href,'win2','status=no,toolbar=no,scrollbars=yes,titlebar=no,menubar=no,resizable=yes,width=640,height=480,directories=no,location=no'); return false;" rel="nofollow"><img src="/templates/ja_vauxite/images/printButton.png" alt="چھاپیے"/></a> </span> <span> <a href="/ur/news/others/2608-bhutan-advocates-happiness-as-measure-of-economic-growth?format=pdf" title="پی ڈی ایف" onclick="window.open(this.href,'win2','status=no,toolbar=no,scrollbars=yes,titlebar=no,menubar=no,resizable=yes,width=640,height=480,directories=no,location=no'); return false;" rel="nofollow"><img src="/templates/ja_vauxite/images/pdf_button.png" alt="پی ڈی ایف"/></a> </span> </div> </div> </div> <div class="article-content"> <div style="height:40px;"><div id="fb-root"></div><div style="float:left;margin:10px;"><fb:like href="/ur/news/others/2608-bhutan-advocates-happiness-as-measure-of-economic-growth" layout="button_count" show_faces="true" send="true" width="" action="like" font="arial" colorscheme="light"></fb:like> </div><div style="float:right;margin:10px;"><a name="fb_share" type="button_count" share_url="/ur/news/others/2608-bhutan-advocates-happiness-as-measure-of-economic-growth" href="http://www.facebook.com/sharer.phpu=/ur/news/others/2608-bhutan-advocates-happiness-as-measure-of-economic-growth&t=Bhutan Advocates Happiness As Measure of Economic Growth">Share</a><script src="http://static.ak.fbcdn.net/connect.php/js/FB.Share" type="text/javascript"></script></div><div style="float:left;margin:10px;"><div><a href="http://twitter.com/share" class="twitter-share-button" data-url="/ur/news/others/2608-bhutan-advocates-happiness-as-measure-of-economic-growth" data-text="Bhutan Advocates Happiness As Measure of Economic Growth" data-count="horizontal">Tweet</a></div></div><div style="float:left;margin:10px;"><script type="text/javascript" src="http://apis.google.com/js/plusone.js"> {lang: 'en-US'} </script><g:plusone size="medium" href="/ur/news/others/2608-bhutan-advocates-happiness-as-measure-of-economic-growth" count="1"></g:plusone></div></div><div class="jfdefaulttext">There are no translations available.</div><br/><p style="text-align: justify;"><strong><img src="/images/stories/demo/ac/bhutan_economy_web_120407.jpg" title="Photo: R. Corben" class="caption" align="left"/></strong></p> <p style="text-align: justify;"><span class="1pixelout"><object type="application/x-shockwave-flash" data="plugins/content/1pixelout/player.swf" id="audioplayer1" height="24" width="200"> <param name="movie" value="/plugins/content/1pixelout/player.swf"/> <param name="FlashVars" value="bg=0xf8f8f8&leftbg=0xeeeeee&lefticon=0x666666&rightbg=0xE8E8E8&rightbghover=0x999999&righticon=0x666666&righticonhover=0x666666&text=0x666666&slider=0x666666&track=0x666666&border=0x666666&loader=0x666666&loop=yes&playerID=1&soundFile=/images/podcast/Data_070412/Bhutan_Economics_FINAL_bhs_inggris_120407.mp3"/> <param name="quality" value="high"/> <param name="menu" value="false"/> <param name="wmode" value="transparent"/> </object> </span></p> <p style="text-align: justify;"><strong><a href="/en/component/docman/doc_download/2733-bhutan-advocates-happiness-as-measure-of-economic-growth"><span style="color: #ff6600;">Download</span></a> This week the UN held its first ever conference on happiness and wellbeing its New York headquarters. </strong><br/> <br/><strong>The conference brought together hundreds of government representatives, academics, and civic leaders to endorse the importance of happiness as a part of public policy. </strong><br/> <br/><strong>To mark the conference, the UN released the World Happiness Report – reflecting a new worldwide demand for more attention to happiness as criteria for government action. </strong><br/> <br/><strong>Bhutan has led the way with this idea – the country has used the Gross National Happiness index as a measure of development for decades. </strong><br/> <br/><strong>Ron Corben has this report. </strong></p> <strong> </strong><br/><br/>Bhutan’s Prime Minister Jigmi Thinley highlights the importance of holistic development to the UN – which means including people’s happiness and well-being in the equation. <br/> <br/>“A growing section of the world’s population, intellectuals, academics, scientists and so on, are searching for an alternative development paradigm. And because of the encouragement that we have received Bhutan dared to propose happiness and human well being as a resolution to be passed by the United Nations. We were pleasantly surprised by the unanimity with which the resolution was passed.”<br/> <br/>Last year the UN General Assembly adopted a resolution noting that purely financial indicators of economic growth do not reflect the happiness of a country’s population. <br/> <br/>This idea comes from Bhutan.<br/><br/>It adopted the Gross National Happiness index in the early 1970s to measure development. <br/><br/>The index brings together good governance, inclusive development, conservation and the preservation of Himalayan culture. <br/> <br/>Kama Tsheetim is Bhutan’s Gross National Happiness Commission Secretary. He explains the main principles of the measurement.<br/> <br/>“It is an approach to development that we seek to balance the material with the non-material – spiritual, cultural aspects and the needs of the individual in society. This is based on a simple belief that at the end of the day what people want from life is to live a meaningful life.” <br/> <br/>Traditional measures of economic progress are all linked to income – Gross National and Domestic Product. But economic growth comes with pollution, social dislocation and environmental damage. <br/> <br/>This is why Bhutan’s approach is an important alternative, says Kama. <br/> <br/>“Basically what we see is that the way we are going about development today and particularly confusing progress with just GDP is actually leading to more problems than solutions. We’re not saying that creating jobs is not good or poverty – reducing poverty – of course they are a top agenda. We feel that development has to be sustainable.” <br/> <br/>Hydropower sales to India are Bhutan’s main source of foreign exchange. <br/> <br/>This is followed by tourism, aimed at attracting big-spending tourists while at the same time limiting the overall number of visitors. All tourists have to spend 250 US dollars each day. <br/> <br/>This is in-line with the government’s commitment to preserve the environment and local culture, says travel consultant Isabel Sebastian.<br/> <br/>“The policy makers here and particularly the Prime Minister are very committed to making Gross National Happiness the driving philosophy in Bhutan’s development. Therefore I have great confidence that things will go differently in Bhutan than in anywhere else. There is a great vision of the leaders here in Bhutan that really you don’t find anywhere else in the world.” <br/> <br/>But Bhutan’s economy is also showing positive growth under traditional GDP measures. <br/> <br/>The economy has expanded at an average of seven per cent over recent years. Income per capita is now more than 2,000 US dollars- up from just over 1700 dollars five years ago.<br/> <br/>Bhutan has also been praised for being on target to meet the UN Millennium Development Goals over the next three years. <br/> <br/>Doji Choden is the head of the UN Development Program’s poverty section in Bhutan. <br/> <br/>“GNH elements of looking at environmental concerns, the social pattern of the community themselves, the holistic assessment, and then the community vitality. It’s not one priority or the other but it’s really looking at it quite holistically – looking at it from all perspective.”<br/> <br/>But Bhutan is also experiencing social challenges, confronting issues of food security and youth unemployment. In many communities fertile land is limited. <br/> <br/>But there’s more than one side to the Gross National Happiness story.<br/><br/>Despite claims it is as the happiest nation in Asia, human rights violations are a significant issue. <br/><br/>10 years after launching the Gross National Happiness index, the government enforced a ‘one nation, one people’ campaign. This stripped a large portion of the Bhutanese Nepali-speaking minority, called the Lhotsampas, of their citizenship. <br/><br/>The campaign escalated to include harassment, arrests, and the burning of ethnic Nepali homes. Many fled to Nepal – and now more than one hundred thousand Lhotsampas have spent around two decades in refugee camps there.<br/><br/>According to Amnesty International, this has become one of the most neglected refugee crises in the world. <br/><br/>Gross National Happiness might be a holistic measurement – but only if it includes all the people. <p style="text-align: justify;"> </p><div style="border-top-style:solid;border-top-width:0px;padding:10px;text-align:center;"><fb:comments href="/ur/news/others/2608-bhutan-advocates-happiness-as-measure-of-economic-growth" num_posts="10" width="550" colorscheme="light"></fb:comments></div></div> <span class="modifydate"> آخری تازہ کاری ( پیر, 09 اپریل 2012 09:52 ) </span> <span class="article_separator"> </span> <script type="text/javascript"> var jcomments=new JComments(2608, 'com_content','index.php?option=com_jcomments&tmpl=component&lang='); jcomments.setList('comments-list'); </script> <div id="jc"> <div id="comments"></div> <h4>Add comment</h4> <a id="addcomments" href="#addcomments"></a> <form id="comments-form" name="comments-form" action="javascript:void(null);"> <p> <input id="comments-form-name" type="text" name="name" value="" maxlength="20" size="22" tabindex="1"/> <label for="comments-form-name">Name (required)</label> </p> <p> <input id="comments-form-email" type="text" name="email" value="" size="22" tabindex="2"/> <label for="comments-form-email">E-mail (required)</label> </p> <p> <input id="comments-form-homepage" type="text" name="homepage" value="" size="22" tabindex="3"/> <label for="comments-form-homepage">Website</label> </p> <p> <textarea id="comments-form-comment" name="comment" cols="65" rows="8" tabindex="5"></textarea> </p> <p> <input class="checkbox" id="comments-form-subscribe" type="checkbox" name="subscribe" value="1" tabindex="5"/> <label for="comments-form-subscribe">Notify me of follow-up comments</label><br/> </p> <p> <img class="captcha" onclick="jcomments.clear('captcha');" id="comments-form-captcha-image" name="captcha-image" src="/index.phpoption=com_jcomments&task=captcha&tmpl=component&ac=87672" width="120" height="60" alt="Security code"/><br/> <span class="captcha" onclick="jcomments.clear('captcha');">Refresh</span><br/> <input class="captcha" id="comments-form-captcha" type="text" name="captcha-refid" value="" size="5" tabindex="6"/><br/> </p> <div id="comments-form-buttons"> <div class="btn" id="comments-form-send"><div><a href="#" tabindex="7" onclick="jcomments.saveComment();return false;" title="Send (Ctrl+Enter)">Send</a></div></div> <div class="btn" id="comments-form-cancel" style="display:none;"><div><a href="#" tabindex="8" onclick="return false;" title="Cancel">Cancel</a></div></div> <div style="clear:both;"></div> </div> <input type="hidden" name="object_id" value="2608"/> <input type="hidden" name="object_group" value="com_content"/> </form> <script type="text/javascript"> function JCommentsInitializeForm() { var jcEditor = new JCommentsEditor('comments-form-comment', true); jcEditor.initSmiles('/components/com_jcomments/images/smiles'); jcEditor.addSmile(':D','laugh.gif'); jcEditor.addSmile(':lol:','lol.gif'); jcEditor.addSmile(':-)','smile.gif'); jcEditor.addSmile(';-)','wink.gif'); jcEditor.addSmile('8)','cool.gif'); jcEditor.addSmile(':-|','normal.gif'); jcEditor.addSmile(':-*','whistling.gif'); jcEditor.addSmile(':oops:','redface.gif'); jcEditor.addSmile(':sad:','sad.gif'); jcEditor.addSmile(':cry:','cry.gif'); jcEditor.addSmile(':o','surprised.gif'); jcEditor.addSmile(':-?','confused.gif'); jcEditor.addSmile(':-x','sick.gif'); jcEditor.addSmile(':eek:','shocked.gif'); jcEditor.addSmile(':zzz','sleeping.gif'); jcEditor.addSmile(':P','tongue.gif'); jcEditor.addSmile(':roll:','rolleyes.gif'); jcEditor.addSmile(':sigh:','unsure.gif'); jcEditor.addCounter(1000, '', ' symbols left', 'counter'); jcomments.setForm(new JCommentsForm('comments-form', jcEditor)); } setTimeout(JCommentsInitializeForm, 100); </script> <div id="comments-footer" align="center"><a href="http://www.joomlatune.com/" title="JComments" target="_blank">JComments</a></div> <script type="text/javascript"> jcomments.setAntiCache(1,1,0); </script> </div> </div></div></div> <!-- BEGIN: JAZIN --> <!-- END: JAZIN --> </div> </div> <!-- END: CONTENT --> <!-- BEGIN: COLUMNS --> <div id="ja-colwrap"> <!-- BEGIN: MASSCOL --> <div id="ja-colmass" class="clearfix"> <div class="module_nobox"> <div> <div> <div> <h3>Search</h3> <form action="index.php" method="post"> <div class="search_nobox"> <input type="submit" value="تلاش" class="button_nobox" onclick="this.form.searchword.focus();"/><input name="searchword" id="mod_search_searchword" maxlength="46" alt="تلاش" class="inputbox_nobox" type="text" size="46" value="تلاش۔۔۔۔" onblur="if(this.value=='') this.value='تلاش۔۔۔۔';" onfocus="if(this.value=='تلاش۔۔۔۔') this.value='';"/> </div> <input type="hidden" name="task" value="search"/> <input type="hidden" name="option" value="com_search"/> </form> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="module_blank"> <div> <div> <div> <a href="/ur/component/jcomments/task=rss&object_id=2608&object_group=com_content&tmpl=component"> <img src="/templates/ja_vauxite/images/livemarks.png" alt="feed-image"/> <span>Asia Calling</span></a> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="module_blank"> <div> <div> <div> <div align="center"><a target="_blank" title="Podcast" href="/en/component/podcast/view=feed&format=raw"><img src="/images/stories/subscribe-podcast_logo.png" height="88" width="106"/></a> <a target="_blank" title="Twitter Asia Calling" href="http://twitter.com/#!/asiacalling"><img src="/images/stories/twitter_followus.png" height="86" width="108"/></a> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="module_blank"> <div> <div> <div> <div align="center"> <div style="text-align: center;"><a target="_blank" href="/en/learn-english/asia-music"><img src="/images/stories/asia-music.gif"/></a></div> <div style="text-align: center;"></div> <div style="text-align: center;"></div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="module_no-box"> <div> <div> <div> <div style="text-align: center;"><a target="_blank" href="/en/news/asia-calling-video/category/asia-calling"><img style="float: left;" src="/images/stories/banner-video.png" height="80" width="311"/></a></div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> <!-- END: MASSCOL --> <div id="ja-cols" class="clearfix"> <div id="ja-col1"> <div class="ja-innerpad clearfix ja-movable-container" id="ja-movable1"> <div class="module"> <div> <div> <div> <div id="dropin" style="position:absolute;visibility:hidden;left:0px; right: 0px; top:100px;z-index:99999;background: transparent; font-size: 11px !important; line-height: 1.5em;"><div style="margin: auto !important; width:300px"><div class="titlebar"><span>PortalKBR</span><a class="dismiss" href="#" onclick="dismissbox();return false"></a></div><div class="msgwrap"><div class="mainmsg"><a href="http://www.portalkbr.com/asiacalling/english/index.html" onclick="dismissbox();return true" target="_parent"><img src="/images/stories/banner_ascal.jpg"/></a><br/></div></div></div></div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div><br/> <!-- END: COLUMNS --> </div></div> <!-- BEGIN: FOOTER --> <div id="ja-footerwrap" class="clearfix"> <div id="ja-footer"> <p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 8pt;"><span style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif; color: #ccffff;">Asia Calling owns all right, title and interest, including the copyright(s), and has the exclusive perpetual worldwide right to use, in whole or in part, and in all manner and media, all material provided to Asia Calling by its Correspondents, with no further obligation to the Correspondent. <br/></span></span></p> </div> </div> <!-- END: FOOTER --> <script type="text/javascript"> var gaJsHost = (("https:" == document.location.protocol) ? "https://ssl./" : "20131203074508/http://www./"); document.write(unescape("%3Cscript src='" + gaJsHost + "google-analytics.com/ga.js' type='text/javascript'%3E%3C/script%3E")); </script> <script type="text/javascript"> try { var pageTracker = _gat._getTracker("UA-18317669-1"); pageTracker._trackPageview(); } catch(err) {}</script> </body> </html>