In a provocative new study, a pair of Nobel prize-winning economists, Joseph E. Stiglitz and Amartya Sen, urge the adoption of new assessment tools that incorporate a broader concern for human welfare than just economic growth (and more and more). Measuring what matters: Man does not live by GDP alone, and new report urges statisticians to capture what people do live by. Do not discount what you cannot measure: Bogus measures add nothing to our understanding — they attempt to compress complex problems and analyses into single observations. GDP is not the be-all and end-all of our existence; it talks of value added to economies but has little to say about anything else. The cult of GDP: Economists search for a new definition of well-being; and just how important is growth to an economy, and does it actually make people any happier? Gross Domestic Happiness: Why the French want to redefine economic growth. This is the greatest good: We have only one true yardstick with which to measure society's progress — happiness. A review of The Pursuit of Unhappiness: The Elusive Psychology of Well-Being by Daniel M. Haybron. Are we really so miserable?: Antidepressant use has doubled, and anxiety is at a troubling high. Blame TV, Big Pharma — and possibly yourself. Getting better at life: How much self-criticism is too much? What are the qualities which really help people cope when times are hard, and which would you wish for a grandchild? A review of You Are Really Rich, You Just Don’t Know It Yet by Steve Henry.
