Apparently, countries such as France have changed the way they measure the well-being of their inhabitants to better reflect overall happiness. These countries decided that looking at economic indicators do not indicate well-being as well as family relationships and access to health care.

I think that the traditional indices have their places in economic forums and fiscal planning; but, to really determine whether or not people are well, I think the alternative measures are more accurate.  As someone who has chosen alternative places to live, I am actually very excited at the prospect of these indicators being used by more countries.

As more and more countries adopt these measures and make the results public, it will be very interesting how they are ranked. I am sure that the countries people sometimes perceive as “troubled” will rank much better than expected. When people (usually those living in the US) give me funny looks when I talk about the places I’ve chosen to live, I think it has more to do with moving to the unfamiliar – even though they claim that they could never give up their US standard of living. Also, there is the perception that people from all over the world leave their countries to come to the US for a better life. So, why on earth would someone leave? I will tell you my answer at a later date, but I suspect the over 1 million American expatriates have similar reasons.

What do you think about the alternative measurements for prosperity? Do you think it can change the way we view life in other countries?

Photo credits: Dollars! by pfala and The Earth is God’s Canvas. by Catch the dream

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