205
© Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2021
M. C. Tobias, J. G. Morrison, On the Nature of Ecological Paradox,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-64526-7_22
Chapter 22
Sakteng
22.1 The Pressure from Within
At the time we first ventured to Bhutan back in the mid-1970s, there appeared on
the surface to be striking discrepancies within the realms of economic perception
outside Bhutan. The family of mathematical equations linking poverty to misery
was simply inaccurate. The World Bank in 1974 considered it one of the poorest
countries in the world. Yet, persistent Quality of Life Indicators suggested just the
opposite, and this gap exists to this day. Most recently, for example, International
Monetary Fund (IMF) researchers write, “Consistent with the Easterlin Paradox,
available evidence indicates that Bhutan’s rapid increase in national income is only
weakly associated with increases in measured levels of well-being” based upon a
determined economic GDP increase of some 700% during four decades of development, with only alleged modest increases in ascertainable satisfaction by
citizens
1
(Fig. 22.1).
In 2014 the Easterlin Paradox was characterized as a “paradox lost,” in as much
as the “claim was tested using the time trend data available in the World Database
1 p.1, “Gross National Happiness and Macroeconomic Indicators in the Kingdom of Bhutan,”
Prepared by Sriram Balasubramanian and Paul Cashin, 1 January 2019, WP/19/15 Gross National
Happiness and Macroeconomic Indicators in the Kingdom of Bhutan, © 2019 International
Monetary Fund WP/19/15 IMF Working Paper Asia and Pacific Department, Accessed April 17,
2019; See also, Easterlin, Richard A. (1974). “Does Economic Growth Improve the Human Lot?”
in Nations and Households in Economic Growth. Editors: P.A. David and W.B. Melvin. Palo Alto,
Stanford University Press: pp. 89–125. See also, Centre for Bhutan Studies and GNH Research
(2016). A Compass Towards a Just and Harmonious Society: 2015 GNH Survey Report.
Government of Bhutan: Thimphu. Clark, Andrew E. and Claudia Senik (2011). Will GDP Growth
Increase Happiness in Developing Countries? Discussion Paper No. 5595. Bonn: IZA.
© Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2021
M. C. Tobias, J. G. Morrison, On the Nature of Ecological Paradox,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-64526-7_22
Chapter 22
Sakteng
22.1 The Pressure from Within
At the time we first ventured to Bhutan back in the mid-1970s, there appeared on
the surface to be striking discrepancies within the realms of economic perception
outside Bhutan. The family of mathematical equations linking poverty to misery
was simply inaccurate. The World Bank in 1974 considered it one of the poorest
countries in the world. Yet, persistent Quality of Life Indicators suggested just the
opposite, and this gap exists to this day. Most recently, for example, International
Monetary Fund (IMF) researchers write, “Consistent with the Easterlin Paradox,
available evidence indicates that Bhutan’s rapid increase in national income is only
weakly associated with increases in measured levels of well-being” based upon a
determined economic GDP increase of some 700% during four decades of development, with only alleged modest increases in ascertainable satisfaction by
citizens
1
(Fig. 22.1).
In 2014 the Easterlin Paradox was characterized as a “paradox lost,” in as much
as the “claim was tested using the time trend data available in the World Database
1 p.1, “Gross National Happiness and Macroeconomic Indicators in the Kingdom of Bhutan,”
Prepared by Sriram Balasubramanian and Paul Cashin, 1 January 2019, WP/19/15 Gross National
Happiness and Macroeconomic Indicators in the Kingdom of Bhutan, © 2019 International
Monetary Fund WP/19/15 IMF Working Paper Asia and Pacific Department, Accessed April 17,
2019; See also, Easterlin, Richard A. (1974). “Does Economic Growth Improve the Human Lot?”
in Nations and Households in Economic Growth. Editors: P.A. David and W.B. Melvin. Palo Alto,
Stanford University Press: pp. 89–125. See also, Centre for Bhutan Studies and GNH Research
(2016). A Compass Towards a Just and Harmonious Society: 2015 GNH Survey Report.
Government of Bhutan: Thimphu. Clark, Andrew E. and Claudia Senik (2011). Will GDP Growth
Increase Happiness in Developing Countries? Discussion Paper No. 5595. Bonn: IZA.