The controversy surrounding his appointment originally arose due to his involvement in editing the book, Dying for Growth. The book had at its core that the pursuit of economic growth impoverished the developing world and kept it in a position of poverty and servitude, and was therefore directly responsible for the deaths of poor and starving people.
Although there is no surprise in the new appointment being an American, the fact that he is neither a politician nor a financier is a first. It has been accepted protocol for the head of the World Bank to be American with a European always heading up the International Monetary Fund. The customer countries, or the countries who are actually on the receiving end of the loans have never had much say in the process.
Kim is a physician and anthropologist and has spent most of his career working in development so there is generally a feeling that things will improve for the developing world. At the time of the announcement of Kim's candidacy, The Kingdom of Bhutan was one of the countries that felt it had reason to feel optimistic. Due to his involvement in Dying for Growth, it had been thought that Kim's approach might be more inclined towards different methods for measuring economic success such as Bhutan's index for Gross National Happiness rather than Gross Domestic Product; the usual measurement favoured by the west.
Coined in 1972 by the then King of Bhutan as an off-hand remark, Gross National Happiness started to take on a more serious note and has led to economists giving increased weight to non-traditional methods for measuring economic success such as health, happiness, spiritual development and overall wellness.
Happiness Economics is now a serious branch of study but is not free from controversy itself due to the subjective nature of measuring such things as happiness.
Unfortunately, for those of us who would like to visit the mountain kingdom of Bhutan, the government of Bhutan demands your tourist dollars in exchange for its peacefulness and tranquility. Apart from nationals of Pakistan, tourists need to hire a guide at US$200 a day in order to be able to enter the kingdom, making it an exclusive destination - indeed, how many people do you know who have been there? While it may seem that this is Nepal for the jet set, one should bear in mind that this is an all-inclusive fee so there are no extra costs for accommodation, travel nor food. Still, two hundred bucks a day does seem a bit steep.
Although there is no surprise in the new appointment being an American, the fact that he is neither a politician nor a financier is a first. It has been accepted protocol for the head of the World Bank to be American with a European always heading up the International Monetary Fund. The customer countries, or the countries who are actually on the receiving end of the loans have never had much say in the process.
Kim is a physician and anthropologist and has spent most of his career working in development so there is generally a feeling that things will improve for the developing world. At the time of the announcement of Kim's candidacy, The Kingdom of Bhutan was one of the countries that felt it had reason to feel optimistic. Due to his involvement in Dying for Growth, it had been thought that Kim's approach might be more inclined towards different methods for measuring economic success such as Bhutan's index for Gross National Happiness rather than Gross Domestic Product; the usual measurement favoured by the west.
Coined in 1972 by the then King of Bhutan as an off-hand remark, Gross National Happiness started to take on a more serious note and has led to economists giving increased weight to non-traditional methods for measuring economic success such as health, happiness, spiritual development and overall wellness.
Happiness Economics is now a serious branch of study but is not free from controversy itself due to the subjective nature of measuring such things as happiness.
Unfortunately, for those of us who would like to visit the mountain kingdom of Bhutan, the government of Bhutan demands your tourist dollars in exchange for its peacefulness and tranquility. Apart from nationals of Pakistan, tourists need to hire a guide at US$200 a day in order to be able to enter the kingdom, making it an exclusive destination - indeed, how many people do you know who have been there? While it may seem that this is Nepal for the jet set, one should bear in mind that this is an all-inclusive fee so there are no extra costs for accommodation, travel nor food. Still, two hundred bucks a day does seem a bit steep.
No comments:
Post a Comment