Gross National Happiness, Cultural Norms, and Macroeconomic Indicators in the Kingdom of Bhutan

This paper examines the origins and evolving use of the concept of Gross National Happiness (GNH) in the Kingdom of Bhutan, and the relationship between measured well-being and macroeconomic indicators across four decades of data. The paper incorporates the 2022 GNH Survey, alongside substantially updated macroeconomic data capturing Bhutan’s experience through the COVID-19 pandemic, and the launch of its ambitious 13th Five-Year Plan (2024–2029). The evidence continues to show that Bhutan’s rapid increase in national income remains only weakly associated with improvements in measured happiness—a pattern that is suggestive of the Easterlin Paradox. The updated GNH index indicates continued progress in well-being alongside sustained economic growth. Drawing on the literature linking cultural norms to economic development, we argue that Bhutan’s cultural endowment is on balance an asset for its growth prospects. GNH exemplifies how a culture-neutral well-being measure becomes more effective for policymaking when assimilated to relevant local cultural norms and values.