WEALTH OR HAPPINESS OF THE EUROPEAN UNION– THE DILEMMA OF THE NORMATIVE ECONOMICS

• Main Author: Studzieniecki, Tomasz
• Format: Conference Proceeding
• Language: English
• Subjects: Cooperation; Economics; Economists; GDP; GNP; Gross Domestic Product; Gross National Product; Happiness; Interdisciplinary aspects; Life expectancy; Life span; Measurement methods; Psychologists; Science; Society; Trends; Wealth
• ISSN: 1849-6903; 1849-6903

This paper undertakes the issue of the relation between the wealth of the nations and the happiness of their citizens. The notion of happiness and the ways of its measurement has long been left on the margin of the economic science. Determining the definition of happiness has not been the only problem, but the methods of measuring it as well. A research in literature on wealth and happiness has been carried out for the sake of this paper. The specific nature of economics as part of humanities has been discussed proving that it is the challenge for economics to study both wealth and happiness. The specific nature of Positive and Normative Economics has been compared which resulted in the conclusion that it is the task of Normative Economics to shape the reality in order to provide wellbeing and happiness to ordinary people. The idea of "good economics" has been exposed to be used to focus on man and their needs. Further, empirical study of the level of happiness and wealth has been carried out in the European Union states. The level of wealth was measured with the use of the most popular tool, i.e. Gross National Product per capita. For this purpose, the data of the World Bank was used. Also the level of happiness of the UE citizens has been measured. The HPI- Happiness Index Planet was used, developed by experts of New Economic Foundation. This tool involves such elements as wellbeing, life expectancy, inequality of outcomes, ecological footprint. The findings showed a moderate correlation between happiness and wealth. They proved a significant differentiation between particular countries of the European Union showing that the countries of the so called Central-Eastern Europe make up the group of poor and least happy ones. The Scandinavian countries and Holland proved the reverse. An interesting situation was noted in Luxembourg which is regarded as the richest country in the European Union, where the results showed the worst coefficient of happiness. The Author has drawn the conclusion that the happiest countries cannot be the poorest. This means that the European Union faces a challenge and within social and political policies is supposed to provide the nations not only with wealth but happiness as well.