The Happy Planet Index

The New Economics Foundation devised the Happy Planet Index (HPI) as a unique measure of the "efficiency with which countries convert the earth's finite resources into well-being experienced by their citizens."

Established in 2006, the HPI quickly garnered media attention as an innovative method of evaluating the ability of a country or region to support healthy, productive human populations without a disastrous or unsustainable impact on their environment. The HPI is based on calculations of life satisfaction and life expectancy in terms of ecological footprint. It challenges traditional notions of a country's success (e.g., individual wealth, gross national product), which are measured without regard for environmental cost. From this site, users can view maps of countries and regions rated according to the HPI. For example, the HPI worldwide map reveals the US swathed in dark red (least happy). In 2007, psychologist Adrian White produced a worldwide map of personal happiness measured as Subjective Well-Being (SWB) that was not related to ecological health http://www.le.ac.uk/users/aw57/world/sample.html. Here the US ranked relatively high, though not as high as other developed countries. In the current economic crisis, the SWB of some countries could differ significantly from 2006 rankings. Comparing the two maps is informative as visual indications of the interplay among societal norms, poverty, economic vitality, and ecosystem viability. Many of the world's poorest countries, including most of sub-Saharan Africa, score very low in SWB but relatively high in HPI, while the reverse is true for most developed countries. Although these are subjective measures, the Happy Planet Index illustrates an approach to calculating human well-being that goes beyond measures of economic development to consider environmental factors. A valuable tool for students of economics, politics, environmental studies, and peace and justice issues.

Reviewer Recommendation:

Summing Up: Highly recommended. General readers and all levels of students. -- A. S. Ricker, Oberlin College. Review published: American Library Association, Choice August 2009