2023-10-07 15:56:00
Once we reach a high level of per capita income, the gain in happiness stagnates. (Illustrative image Infobae)
Talking about happiness involves a deep topic. Thus, it is very unusual for someone to declare themselves unhappy. It is even rare to speak of a nation of unhappy people. The pejorative reference to an unhappy nation or region would easily be taken as an insult, something derogatory.
However, the dictionary of the Royal Spanish Academy would clarify this task for us. The aforementioned dictionary describes the word with two subtly different meanings. Like someone or something of adverse luck; or—rather—as someone or something, kind and timid. You, dear reader, should be flattered if someone presents you as someone kind, that is, as unhappy.
Itching aside, it is worth keeping in mind that when we talk about the level of well-being, well-being, or economic success of a nation, few people—including myself—would be satisfied if we used an official estimate of the product. national or real income per person, or its ratios to the income of a rich nation.
At the same time, there are some that take as a reference the peculiar Human Development Index, published by the United Nations. Statistical on which, personally, I do not assign greater value, not even to measure – precisely – Economic Development.
In the middle of searching for a direct index; one that attempts to carefully measure the happiness or unhappiness of a nation, the excellent World Happiness Report appeared years ago (2012) (https://worldhappiness.report/) and its respective statistics of the happiness of a nation.
They build their index on the idea that “a natural way to measure people’s well-being is to ask them how satisfied they are with their lives.” To do this, they scale the responses from 0 to 10 (0=completely dissatisfied, 10=completely satisfied). In their statistical effort they try to evaluate their own happiness, without making assumptions about its causes. Something like “life satisfaction” or a standard of well-being.
Textually, to explain differences in well-being around the world, key factors include variables linked to physical and mental health, human relationships (in the family, at work and in the community), income and job virtues. labor character, including pro-sociality and trust, social support, personal freedom, low bureaucratic corruption and that oxymoron called effective government.
Since 2012, when they published their results for the first time, they have not stopped revealing and ranking the happiest—or unhappiest—nations on the planet. It is no coincidence here that the champion of happiness, for quite some time now, is Finland. On the opposite side, there are certain decomposing nations throughout the planet. It is also relevant to consider that some Latin American nations stand out. And they do it both because of the modest nature of their happiness and because of their overwhelming unhappiness (Incarian style).
A detail not exactly inconsistent with its institutional disparity and the severe economic decline that characterizes the region in the last decade.
What lessons does the published evidence leave us? If we investigate the connection between the happiness and wealth of a country, the first figure brings us a series of inferences (see figure One).
The first involves its association with the level of wealth. The level of actual output per person matters a lot. Particularly when this is very low. Specifically, when one is poor or very poor. It also suggests to us that the less oppressed, ergo poor, a nation becomes – it becomes happier. Then, when a nation liberalizes economically and manages to grow at a sustained rate, happiness levels explode.
Picture about wealth and happiness
Of course, once we reach a high level of income per inhabitant, the gain in happiness stagnates. Greater happiness, one might say, only in heaven. A careful observer, dear readers, would recommend that you behave well in order to reach non-earthly levels of happiness (which this measurement does not capture).
A second version of this correlation of 134 nations suggests that happiness brings people together. It leads us to reflections that we should not avoid. Today, nations coexist that record both the most extreme deprivation and the most shameless opulence. Very poor and unhappy nations versus very rich nations with stagnant and high levels of happiness. Fortunately, the bulk of the sample has income and happiness that we could classify as medium.
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#Unhappy #oppressed #Infobae