The National Happiness Index, a long-term project of Hendal, Banka magazina, and Allianz that will monitor the quality of life and personal satisfaction of Croatian citizens every month, was presented on Wednesday in Zagreb.
The index offers a set of statistical indicators derived from nine components on a scale from 0 to 100, among which are general life satisfaction with the situation, emotional state, health condition, basic living conditions, and similar. Measurements have been conducted continuously since February on a representative sample of 750 respondents, and the first results showed that Croatian citizens have an index of 63.8, placing them in the positive part of the happiness scale. – The intention is to develop the project beyond the boundaries of how happy citizens are and to initiate interdisciplinary research on how economic activities affect happiness – explained the editor-in-chief of Banka, Željko Ivanković.
Thus, the project is not aimed at devaluing economic research, but its initiators describe it as an expression of the effort to affirm different economic thinking from the established ones. – Many countries have recognized the need to monitor these ‘soft’ indicators, as their synergy with hard macroeconomic indicators such as GDP is essential – emphasized Nevenka Hendrih, director of Hendal. Allianz has also joined the project, with board member Kristijan Buk emphasizing that the company believes the project can add value at the societal level as a whole. The first results have shown that citizens believe they have reasons for happiness and satisfaction despite the economic crisis. However, the index will only show its true meaning after some time, when changes occurring over time can be observed, as well as measure the effects of various social changes. Their analysis of the National Happiness Index was also offered by scientists Majda Rijavec, Žarko Puhovski, and Ivo Bićanić. (T.B.)
