It's intrinsic to human nature to acquire more wealth which is generally presumed to be directly related to the happiness we experience. Would a higher Gross Domestic Product, Prosperity Index or even Human Development Index be a sufficient indicator of the well-being of the citizens amidst growing inequality, intolerance, rising terrorism or a degrading environment? What better measure could be developed so that the indicator directs the governments to work out better policies for better quality of life?

The central focus of economics has been the acquisition and accumulation of wealth through which the concept of welfare was once derived. Adam Smith in his An Enquiry into the Nature and the Causes of the Wealth of Nations, states, "…Every man is rich or poor according to the degree in which he can afford to enjoy the necessities, conveniences and amusements of human life." The subject matter of economics has been to identify how the individuals or the countries could become richer through the economic activities they perform through their rational decision-making. The concept of rationality was, however, embedded in acquiring more and more of commodities. Though the neoclassical economists brought a shift in the paradigm of economics by introducing the concept of utility, marginalism, or the equilibrium to optimize in a given situation, the central focus of economics rested on maximization—be it the utility for the consumer or the profit for the producer through the consumption or production of commodities. The later development on the subject by institutional economists lays importance on the role of institutions in governing human behavior and decision-making, through the principles of information asymmetry, moral hazards, etc., which again do not ignore the objective of maximizing personal benefits. It was thus an obvious outcome that the entire focus of the economies was to maximize wealth which was measured through yardsticks like Gross Domestic Product (GDP) or Gross National Product (GNP).

Measurement of Human Welfare and Happiness, Gross Domestic Product, GDP, Prosperity Index, Human Development Index, HDI, Degrading environment, Gross National Product, GNP, United Nations Development Programme , UNDP, Per Capita Income, PCI, Day Reconstruction Method, DRM.