Can France have its gâteau and mange it too?
WNYC’s Underreported segment recently focused on The New French GDP. It was a response to President Nicolas Sarkozy’s announcement earlier this week that his country would now be taking happiness and well-being into account when it calculates its Gross Domestic Product (GDP) – rethinking the GDP formula. President Sarkozy is urging other nations to consider France’s new approach.
Can a country have a lucrative GDP if it places a high value on leisure and long holidays (happiness and well-being)? Can it have its gâteau and mange it too?
In may, the curious g wrote on the happiest countries in the world and what makes them that way. France did not make the top ten but seems to be jockeying for position. Denmark, look out.
Leonard Lopate talks details with Ben Hall, Paris correspondent for the Financial Times.
