Money Case

Money has been used as "gold standard" of almost everything including achievements of both individuals as well as nations. A good number of economists assert that, the buoyancy of consumers is determined on the basis of economic growth and economic development, as well as the welfare of the general public. Arguably, for a long time now money has been used as an indicator of the progress of an economy, as well as the social advancement and the quality of life. In general terms, wealth of both nations and individuals is usually measured in terms of money, (Brendan 2011). However, it has been noticed that although money is a good measure of wealth, it is not effective in measuring some other aspects of life, which in a great deal determines the wellbeing of people. Undeniably, there are other important factors that can be used to indicate the wellbeing of people which cannot be measured in terms of money. Based on this argument, a good number of economists claim that the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of a nation cannot decisively be used to determine the welfare of people in the particular nation, (John 2010).

It is on the basis of the above argument that some economist have come up with the proposal that happiness and welfare of a nation should also be computed; as the Gross Domestic Product figure has proved to be not all-inclusive. Therefore, there was need to come up with an indicator that could be used to determine the social progress or rather the quality of life in a more comprehensive manner than the Gross Domestic Product, (Brendan 2011). This was the origin of the Gross National Happiness (GNH). This concept was invented by the King of Bhutan in 1972 in an attempt to build an economy that will take into consideration the culture and traditions of Bhutan, environmental factors, enhance accountability, and most importantly the prosperity of the nation. To-date, this concept has been advocated for by a good number of economists in the determination of the wellbeing of people in a nation. Many of these economists assert that there are chances of GNH becoming a substitute of GDP, due to the fact that GDP has not been effective in measuring the goodness or badness of activities as it only focuses on the economy.