Link between the HPI and the GDP

What is the HPI :

The Happy Planet Index (HPI) is an index (= comparative scale) of human well-being and environmental impact that was introduced by the New Economics Foundation (NEF) in July 2006. The New Economics Foundation (NEF) have ranked countries all over the world based on how efficiently their residents are able to live long, happy lives right now, and in the future. The index is weighted to give progressively higher scores to nations with lower ecological footprints, it is designed to challenge well-established indices of countries’ development, such as the gross domestic product (GDP) and the Human Development Index (HDI), which are seen as not taking sustainability into account.

The HPI is the leading measure of sustainable wellbeing. It combines four elements ; wellbeing, life expectancy, inequality of outcomes, and ecological footprint, to show how efficiently residents of different countries are using environmental resources to lead long and happy lives.

Basically, the Happy Planet Index provides a compass to guide nations and shows that it is possible to live good lives without costing the Earth.

Definition of GDP :

The GDP is an indicator that measures the production/output of goods and services in one country for a year.

Link between GPD and HPI :

The link between GDP and HPI is not exactly a positive correlation, one could think that the higher the GDP is, the happier the inhabitants are going to be thanks to a better quality of life, but this is not the case all the time.

The link between the two is not strictly positive nor negative, of course the GDP impacts happiness (thanks to the overall quality of life) but it is not the main factor, if we pay attention to how the HPI is calculated, the GDP does not enter directly into play, but for example a country with a high GDP but great inequalities between the incomes can very well be classified lower than a less rich but more equitable country.

GDP is seen as inappropriate, as the usual aim of most people is not to be rich, but to be happy and healthy. Furthermore, it is believed that the notion of sustainable development requires a measure of the environmental costs of pursuing those goals.

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