DEMOGRAPHIC, SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC DETERMINANTS OF HAPPINESS IN PUNJAB: A HOUSEHOLD BASED ANALYSIS

Abstract

Gross National Happiness (GNH) Index first developed by Bhutan that is an inspiring initiative by Bhutan’s government, and much praised by the global development communities. SDGs are highly integrated with the development philosophy of gross national happiness. Happiness is actually a sense of well-being, and generally, it is being supposed that happiness is a major source of motivation. It is the earliest assumption that income can make anyone happy, but there is a number of factors that are responsible for the happiness or subjective well-being other than income. This study examined the household level of happiness of women by considering demographic, social and economic determinants in province Punjab. The happiness of women is measured through developing happiness index based upon MICS5 data. Results showed that demographic, social and economic determinants can increase the happiness of female in case of Punjab. Some dependent variables having some negative relationships with happiness while all the other independent variables are effecting the happiness of women in a positive manner. The implications based on the findings suggest that policymakers should draft focused policies to accelerate the household level wellbeing of women instead of relying only on unanimous programs for all regions. Key words: Happiness Index, Social Variables, Economics, Demography, Pakistan JEL classification codes: O15, P36, D31, D63