Life, Liberty and The Pursuit of Happiness: A Jeffersonian Approach to Development Indicators

Jon Rezek, Graham Cano and Brent Evans ()

The American Economist, 2011, vol. 56, issue 2, 35-46

Abstract: International comparisons of societal development are traditionally based, at least partially, on per capita GDP. This paper develops an alternative approach to evaluating human progress using criteria outside the traditional income-based metrics. We evaluate national achievement using Thomas Jefferson's inalienable rights – Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness – as the development indicator. The results suggest that the northwestern European countries and their offshoots are most successful. Former Spanish territories, including the Philippines and those in Latin America, also perform well according to this metric. Eastern European and economically prosperous East Asian nations perform poorly.

Date: 2011
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:sae:amerec:v:56:y:2011:i:2:p:35-46

DOI: 10.1177/056943451105600206

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