The idea that it is the business of governments to cheer up their citizens has moved in recent years to centre-stage. Academics interested in measures of gdh (gross domestic happiness) were once forced to turn to the esoteric example of Bhutan. Now Britain's Conservative-led government is compiling a national happiness index, and Nicolas Sarkozy, France's president, wants to replace the traditional gdp count with a measure that takes in subjective happiness levels and environmental sustainability.
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