There is a noticeable trend in many countries to estimate and increase the level of happiness of people in the same way as governments do in case of the economy. I absolutely agree with this approach for two reasons: the level of happiness of population is directly connected with the level of the development of the economy; moreover, such way allows government to identify some specific issues that affect citizens’ live and to deal with them.
The main reason why I support this approach is because there are many economic factors people face with during their existence and the majority of these factors directly influence the level of life satisfaction of citizens. For instance: the degree of unemployment, inflation, investment ability, tax policy and the Gross Domestic Product. The lower the percentage of unemployed part of the society or the level of inflation – the happier people are. If there is an acceptable tax policy in the country than residents are more satisfied with their government. Statistically, Finland is the happiest country in the world, incidentally, Finland’s government implements the progressive tax system, which proof what I mentioned.
Another reason I endorse the newer approach is because it is much easier for economists to estimate the degree of happiness of society by some measurable things like the percentage of employed people. It really helps to determine the main societal issues and to find optimal solutions.
In conclusion, I completely agree with the strategy of some governments to measure and improve the degree of happiness using economic methodology because these two things are connected closely and it helps to identify some issues which decrease the level of societal satisfaction.