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| Life Satisfaction Index. Credit: OECD Better Life Initiative |
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| Maslow's pyramid. Credit: wikipedia |
The Better Life Index is born as a way to measure the progress of a country beyond the limitations GDP growth figures pose, specially for developed countries. Because let's face it, GDP can be booming in China but life is still way more comfortable in a cozy hut on the Swiss Alps. When you reach certain economic status and your needs are covered, GDP growth goes into the background and work-life balance, personal fulfillment, education... take the center stage. It is just another implication of the widely known Maslow's hierarchy of needs. Only when you have covered your basic physiological needs you can start worrying about the upper levels. The most useful feature of the Better Life index is that you can interact with it. So, independently of what Mr Maslow said, you can define the importance each of the eleven available topics have for you, overweighting the most important ones or simply avoiding others.
Maybe you have kids and education is now far more important than income. Maybe you are retired so your only worries are now safety and health to be able to enjoy life. The possibilities and combinations are endless... But like it or not, what most of the people are now worried about is housing, and this is where the Better Life Index comes short, showing its biggest and more serious flaw. The housing topic takes into account two indicators to calculate its mark: average number of rooms per house and their access to basic facilities (plumbing, electricity and such). Seriously?? We are talking about arguably the 34 most developed and industrialized countries in the world and all you can think about to evaluate housing standards is having a faucet in the bathroom? A lot of better ideas come to mind when thinking about ways to evaluate housing in a country.
