The economics of happiness – no top marks for Italy, though sustainability is increasingly championed by consumers and enterprises
“Money can’t buy happiness”, proclaims a popular folk saying, but then again, neither does the absolute lack of it. Rather, we should consider the significance of the so-called “economics of happiness”, measured by the World Happiness Report, published by the United Nations and focused on quantifying “quality of life” as an economic, political and social goal. Money, well-being and happiness can indeed work well together.
The World Happiness Report is usually published every year on 20 March, the International Day of Happiness, as per an agreement reached on 28 June 2012 by the 193 member countries belonging to the United Nations General Assembly. This year, the ranking sees Finland, Denmark and Iceland in the lead, followed by Israel, The Netherlands, Sweden, Norway, Luxembourg and New Zealand. Italy is in 33rd place, less happy than Germany (16th place) and France (21st place), while Sierra Leone, Lebanon and Afghanistan bring up the rear.
The World Happiness Index is based on six factors: social support, income, freedom to make life choices, generosity, and the absence of corruption in a country. As with all such rankings, it’s of course debatable – it’s largely based on the perceptions of the interviewees (Italian people are notorious for moaning and denigrating themselves) and it’s strongly influenced by emotional factors linked to current events. Yet, after the necessary clarifications and reality check, it remains nonetheless a considerably illustrative index, not only useful in gauging a country’s sense of self and general mood but also, and above all, in measuring not only, and not so much, a country’s wealth but rather its well-being. A key indicator that can be used to steer public policies (healthcare, education and welfare costs, the overcoming of inequalities and discriminations), as well as to lead enterprises to invest in sustainable manufacturing in environmental and social terms and pay heed to the needs of consumers and stakeholders.
These themes will be discussed in the next few days (from 24 to 26 March) at the World Happiness Summit, held in Como, which will count amongst its attendees Karen Guggenheim, founder of the initiative, and Daniel Kahneman, 2002 winner of the Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences. “The overall goal must be that of a happier society. But we only get there if people make each other happy (and not just themselves)”, explains Jeffrey Sachs, president of the United Nations Sustainable Development Solutions Network, one of most attentive economists with regards to sustainability (La Stampa, 20 March).
John Helliwell, who together with Sachs and Richard Layard has interviewed a large sample of the population of over 150 countries in order to draft the World Happiness Report, adds that: “A deep change is affecting the whole world: people are acknowledging that progress should not merely and forcibly generate economic growth but also well-being and happiness”.
Thus, we actually need to transcend GDP parameters and make way for the quality – not just the quantity – of wealth produced. “Measuring what counts”, i.e. well-being, to quote the title of a key work by Joseph Stiglitz, Jean-Paul Fitoussi and Martine Durand (Einaudi, 2021), following indications from the BES (the Italian report on equitable and sustainable well-being devised by Istat to assess the strategies for public investment related to every Italian financial law). Basically, we should make sure to actualise the decisions taken in order to meet the 17 Sustainable Development Goals identified by the UN in the Paris Agreement.
Italy, though not officially featured at the top of the Happiness Index, has nonetheless been developing a growing sensitivity to these topics for a long time, a sensitivity that’s been steering the strategies and behaviours of the most responsible enterprises, firmly persuaded that a genuine and transparent commitment to sustainability is a key factor for productivity and competitiveness.
Confirmation of this can also be found in a recent report by the Symbola Foundation and Ipsos (Corriere della Sera, 20 March): low-impact products are preferred, in terms of quality, by 56% of consumers. “We are increasingly and decisively heading towards an economy on a human scale,” states Ermete Realacci, president of Symbola, as “a new era of sustainability has begun, which affects every sector and the whole of society, across the board” and this is a notion “no longer perceived like a diktat imposed from above, but has become a socially desirable goal and, as such, a more easily attainable one”.
After all, Symbola reports have been showing that the most “cohesive” enterprises are also the most competitive ones – on the international markets, too – for a long time, and, further, that in Europe Italian companies are at the forefront in terms of circular economy and recycling, with a positive impact on the environment in general terms and their own income statements in more individual terms. An increase of consumer sensitivity has helped consolidating this process, which has also led to enhanced widespread political awareness.
Nando Pagnoncelli, president of Ipsos, states that: “Environmentalism no longer triggers blind rejection and has become an opportunity for economic growth that benefits both individuals and society. And it is now clear that enterprises that are credible in environmental and social terms benefit from greater consumer loyalty and a faster growth”.
The economics of happiness, in other words, are not just beneficial but also engender strong ethical values, the same ones epitomised in the motto ‘Do, do well and do good”.
(photo Getty Images)
“Money can’t buy happiness”, proclaims a popular folk saying, but then again, neither does the absolute lack of it. Rather, we should consider the significance of the so-called “economics of happiness”, measured by the World Happiness Report, published by the United Nations and focused on quantifying “quality of life” as an economic, political and social goal. Money, well-being and happiness can indeed work well together.
The World Happiness Report is usually published every year on 20 March, the International Day of Happiness, as per an agreement reached on 28 June 2012 by the 193 member countries belonging to the United Nations General Assembly. This year, the ranking sees Finland, Denmark and Iceland in the lead, followed by Israel, The Netherlands, Sweden, Norway, Luxembourg and New Zealand. Italy is in 33rd place, less happy than Germany (16th place) and France (21st place), while Sierra Leone, Lebanon and Afghanistan bring up the rear.
The World Happiness Index is based on six factors: social support, income, freedom to make life choices, generosity, and the absence of corruption in a country. As with all such rankings, it’s of course debatable – it’s largely based on the perceptions of the interviewees (Italian people are notorious for moaning and denigrating themselves) and it’s strongly influenced by emotional factors linked to current events. Yet, after the necessary clarifications and reality check, it remains nonetheless a considerably illustrative index, not only useful in gauging a country’s sense of self and general mood but also, and above all, in measuring not only, and not so much, a country’s wealth but rather its well-being. A key indicator that can be used to steer public policies (healthcare, education and welfare costs, the overcoming of inequalities and discriminations), as well as to lead enterprises to invest in sustainable manufacturing in environmental and social terms and pay heed to the needs of consumers and stakeholders.
These themes will be discussed in the next few days (from 24 to 26 March) at the World Happiness Summit, held in Como, which will count amongst its attendees Karen Guggenheim, founder of the initiative, and Daniel Kahneman, 2002 winner of the Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences. “The overall goal must be that of a happier society. But we only get there if people make each other happy (and not just themselves)”, explains Jeffrey Sachs, president of the United Nations Sustainable Development Solutions Network, one of most attentive economists with regards to sustainability (La Stampa, 20 March).
John Helliwell, who together with Sachs and Richard Layard has interviewed a large sample of the population of over 150 countries in order to draft the World Happiness Report, adds that: “A deep change is affecting the whole world: people are acknowledging that progress should not merely and forcibly generate economic growth but also well-being and happiness”.
Thus, we actually need to transcend GDP parameters and make way for the quality – not just the quantity – of wealth produced. “Measuring what counts”, i.e. well-being, to quote the title of a key work by Joseph Stiglitz, Jean-Paul Fitoussi and Martine Durand (Einaudi, 2021), following indications from the BES (the Italian report on equitable and sustainable well-being devised by Istat to assess the strategies for public investment related to every Italian financial law). Basically, we should make sure to actualise the decisions taken in order to meet the 17 Sustainable Development Goals identified by the UN in the Paris Agreement.
Italy, though not officially featured at the top of the Happiness Index, has nonetheless been developing a growing sensitivity to these topics for a long time, a sensitivity that’s been steering the strategies and behaviours of the most responsible enterprises, firmly persuaded that a genuine and transparent commitment to sustainability is a key factor for productivity and competitiveness.
Confirmation of this can also be found in a recent report by the Symbola Foundation and Ipsos (Corriere della Sera, 20 March): low-impact products are preferred, in terms of quality, by 56% of consumers. “We are increasingly and decisively heading towards an economy on a human scale,” states Ermete Realacci, president of Symbola, as “a new era of sustainability has begun, which affects every sector and the whole of society, across the board” and this is a notion “no longer perceived like a diktat imposed from above, but has become a socially desirable goal and, as such, a more easily attainable one”.
After all, Symbola reports have been showing that the most “cohesive” enterprises are also the most competitive ones – on the international markets, too – for a long time, and, further, that in Europe Italian companies are at the forefront in terms of circular economy and recycling, with a positive impact on the environment in general terms and their own income statements in more individual terms. An increase of consumer sensitivity has helped consolidating this process, which has also led to enhanced widespread political awareness.
Nando Pagnoncelli, president of Ipsos, states that: “Environmentalism no longer triggers blind rejection and has become an opportunity for economic growth that benefits both individuals and society. And it is now clear that enterprises that are credible in environmental and social terms benefit from greater consumer loyalty and a faster growth”.
The economics of happiness, in other words, are not just beneficial but also engender strong ethical values, the same ones epitomised in the motto ‘Do, do well and do good”.
(photo Getty Images)