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Wealthy but happy?

Switzerland topped the Economist’s “where–to-be-born” index for 2013, followed by rich economies Australia, Norway, Sweden, Denmark and Singapore. Does living in a place with high living standards also make you happy?

Over recent years there has been much debate about “happiness” indexes as a way of gauging a society’s prosperity and wellbeing. Since 1971, Bhutan has rejected gross domestic product (GDP) as the only way to measure progress. In its place, it has championed a new approach to development, which measures prosperity through formal principles of gross national happiness and the spiritual, physical, social and environmental health of its citizens and natural environment. This year the United Nations presented a World Happiness Report from responses compiled from 156 different countries. And the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) has relaunched a Better Life Index. Can we really measure our wellbeing? Can you buy happiness? What other influences are there?

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Nigerians assess the “best place to be born”

This content was published on “It’s so great for kids here. In some Swiss primary school classrooms they have computers lined up for the children to use, while a Nigeria secondary school may have one computer for everyone if they are lucky,” said Michael*, a 40-year-old Nigerian who lives in Bern. “The two countries really are incomparable.” The father of…

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Poor – and expecting a child in 2013

This content was published on Poverty is a relative concept, varying from country to country. In absolute terms 600,000 people below the poverty line isn’t much, and in Switzerland very few are in real dire straights. But the percentage of those who are at risk of becoming poor -14.2% – is among the highest in Europe, behind Luxembourg and Norway,…

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