ABSTRACT
Conventionally, GDP or GNP is considered as a measure of well-being of a country. In spite of their simplicity and objectivity, voices are raised against these income-based measures on the ground that human well-being is primarily subjective in nature. According to human development approach, the perception of well-being covers different dimensions of well-being, viz., quality of education, healthcare quality, the standard of living and labor market, personal safety, overall satisfaction with freedom of choice and life and perceptions about community and government. This paper presents a brief overview of the concept of well-being in the context of human development approach and analyses the role of well-being indicators in determining the perception of overall human well-being for different countries, regions and at the global level on the basis of HDR 2016 published by UNDP.
ABSTRACT
In order to assess the well-being of a country and to make comparative analysis across countries, Gross National Income (GNI) per capita is the most commonly and frequently used indicator of well-being. Apart from that, this paper discusses another well-being marker: Happy Planet Index (HPI) which is relatively new in its kind with a view of incorporating higher degree of subjectivity. For the purpose of establishing correspondence (if any) between these well-being indicators, a large number of countries are considered and grouped accordingly