Beyond GDP: A Movement Toward Happiness Economy to Achieve Sustainability

Abstract

In the last few years, the concept of happiness economics has gained massive popularity among researchers and policy-makers. Taking GDP as an indicator that reflects the economic welfare of countries indicated “dematerializing” of the economy, also known as the coupling effect. However, the viability of GDP as the sole and unambiguous economic measure has been severely impacted. Moreover, an increased inclination toward measuring the economic welfare and not just the economic output has captured more attention paving way to happiness economics. The aim of the study is to review the research work done in the last 35 years (1987–2022) in the area pertaining to “beyond GDP. ” The study includes 144 research papers from the Scopus database through a reference searching approach and identified keywords. A bibliometric-based review approach using VOSviewer and RStudio software will be used to trace and review the most influential authors, journals, and top keywords. Finally, a conceptual framework and future research avenues are suggested.