Agent of Happiness

In 2008, Bhutan introduced the Gross National Happiness Survey, an ambitious effort to measure well-being across the country. Trained government officials, like Amber Kumar Gurung, travel to remote villages, asking citizens to rate their happiness through structured interviews. He asks them: Do you own a tractor? A goat? Chickens or a buffalo? But as he gathers data, the surveyor uncovers something more profound. Can happiness truly be measured or does the attempt to do so reveal more about the system than the people it studies?