The Pursuit of Happiness

The 2013 World Happiness Report was released a couple of weeks ago, making its case that “well-being should be a critical component of how the world measures its economic and social development.”  So who came out on top?  No surprise, the usual suspects – north European countries of Denmark, Norway, Switzerland, The Netherlands, and Sweden (ranked 1-5 respectively).  But who came in sixth place?  Canada!  Where was India?  111^th place (out of 156 countries).  As my colleague put it, “You must be happy to live in a nation like Canada!  Incidentally, India ranks a rather sad 111^th.”

While most of us already know (and accept at least in theory) that money cannot buy happiness – it can make life a bit easier.  While my first thoughts came to social security and sense of equality as the key factors in happiness, my Indian colleague drew attention to the fact that according to Transparency International’s ranking on Corruption Perception Index 2012, of the ten countries with the least corruption, eight of them figure in the top ten in the happiness index.  The report’s measurement indicators included GDP per capita, social support, healthy life expectancy at birth, freedom to make life choices, generosity, and perception of corruption.

Nonetheless, when I think about people in India and Canada, I can’t so easily say that individuals in Canada seem happier than in India.  I see plenty of smiles and laughs here too!  And at the same time, there have been plenty of moments – and some longer periods – when I have felt far from 6^th-country status happy.

According to this, all poor people are unhappy.

Does it have something to do with the number of people living in poverty?  (If you go by the countless donor pamphlets and posters that show sad and weary faces, then you may indeed think everyone in poor countries is desperately unhappy).  In that regard India, with its 400 million people (32.7%) living below the poverty line of $1.25/day (World Bank 2010) has a lot of people worried about meeting their basic needs.

But what about this so-called big emerging middle class in India?  Aren’t they happier?  Well, firstly, 841 million Indians (or 68.7% of the population) live on less than $2.00/day (World Bank 2010).  In other words, 441 million Indians are just above the poverty line.  Ok, what about the ‘real’ middle class?  Well, they have their own set of concerns.  As the World Bank’s Sina Odugbemi writes, “To understand the growing anger of middle class citizens in developing countries you have to understand two aspects of the conditions under which they live: the merely bit and the barely bit.”

First the merely bit.  When you are merely middle-class in a developing country, you face the problem of access to certain basic services which the government should provide, but does not.  This is usually due to poor governance.  This means you need to provide your own:

A common sight (water tanker).

• electric power supply (e.g. have a backup generator and supply it with diesel);
• water supply (the private water tanker business is big here in India – even in monsoon season);
• security for your home (the security guard business is a big employer in India – albeit it is much bigger in some other developing countries with higher rates of violent crime);
• education for your children (in India, even the poor will go to extremes to send their children to some sort of private school, as the public system is so dismal and ineffective even on the days the teachers actually show up);
• healthcare (like education, everyone does what they can to go to a private clinic or hospital).

So, as Mr. Odugbemi writes, to obtain the basic comforts you have to earn an extraordinary income to meet your huge reoccurring monthly cost base.  The emerging ‘merely’ middle class cannot afford all of these private services, but are educated enough to know what they are entitled to that their government is not delivering – which can only be a source of immense frustration.  In a different country (such as one of those northern European ones) all you need to do is pay your taxes and utilities bills, and you are able to enjoy the same services that only the very wealthy can afford in a developing country.

Then the barely part; many in the middle class know their situation is fragile, and there is always the risk that something could easily throw them back into poverty.  Formal social insurance or security structures are simply not there.

Ganesh statues on the move.

Nonetheless, it would be an immense misconception to think that everyone in India is walking around sad-faced.  If anything, it is also this emerging middle class that is the most hopeful about a better future.  At this very moment I am listening to drums playing as part of some festival – as I hear so often in the evenings – never sure if it is a wedding, some political rally, or this week part of the Ganesh Chaturthi festival (I am looking forward to September 18, when statues of Lord Ganesh will be paraded through the streets and then immersed in Hussain Sagar lake).

Ganesh statue being immersed into Hussainsagar.

So wherever a country ranks on the happiness index, it doesn’t so much measure frequency of laugher or smiles on individuals’ faces, but general country indicators.  In my field visits and meetings with women living below the poverty line, plenty of them are proud to show off their livelihood activity.  While for us the thought of doing something like tailoring all day does not seem very cheerful, for these women it means extra income, a level of independence and empowerment, and a means to send their children to school.

There is something in basic human nature that makes us greedy in our pursuit of happiness – no doubt fuelled by advertisements designed to convince us that a certain material item will makes us happier.  But there is nothing greedy about wanting social support, a healthy life expectancy, freedom from corruption, and freedom to make life choices.  And so I applaud the ‘happiness economics’ movement – as development is so much more than just GDP per capita.

Just smiling for the photo?