The Economics of the World’s Happiest Country: Finland

 The Economics of the World’s Happiest Country: Finland

Written by: Mitchell Smith

From a superficial perspective, the state of economic prosperity that a particular country possesses ties directly with measurable statistics such as GDP/GDP per capita, unemployment rate, and inflation rate. While it is true that these statistics offer a fairly concrete picture of a country’s economic state, that picture may be even more clear with the use of happiness as a measurement of economic prosperity. You see, happiness is considered to be an all encompassing statistic, accurately representing all demographics and psychographics of the people within a country. With that said, which world country is considered to be the happiest? And what are citizens in that country experiencing that citizens of other countries are failing to experience?

Though it may come as a surprise to some, there does exist one outstanding country in terms of monumentally high happiness metrics, that country, of course, being Finland. Yes, a country with a land mass smaller than that of Montana holds the undisputed throne of “the happiest country in the world.” This stunning development begs the question, what makes Finland citizens so happy, and how can other world countries apply Finland’s strategies to improve their general happiness levels.

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Firstly, Finland’s happiness stems from the country’s continued pursuit of an economic goal that is oh-so important to the overall economic prosperity of a nation, equitable distribution of income and income inequality. In a world where income inequality only appears to be rising in developed countries such as the United States, Finland has consistently made strides against this detrimental trend, demolishing gender/racial barriers in the workplace and offering countless welfare benefits to the less fortunate. These strides have most certainly paid off, as pictured in the graph above, the nation’s percent difference between its upper and low class lies at the low 3.7 percent, dwarfing that of the US at 8.5 percent. What is debatably the most incredible statistic of any in relation to Finland’s happiness levels, the gender split between stay at home mothers and fathers is approximately equal, allowing all to be accepted with their economic decisions regardless of race, class, or gender. Additionally, Finland’s unparalleled welfare benefits from unemployment and housing to student financial aid, to even parental allowances ensure that people in all facets of their lives are supported through their financial struggles. This continued pursuit of an economic goal that many world countries have virtually ignored as of late has allowed Finland to become the happiest country in the world.

Secondly, Finland’s happiness and economic prosperity come from what many call the “Finish approach” to the internal workplace. This approach is otherwise known as the flat working model, a model that eliminates any and all hierarchy within companies. This promotes open communication, increased commitment from all employees, each of whom now have their own voices, and heightened flexibility. Without the second hand pressure that hierarchical levels impose on all employees within a particular company, Finland workers exemplify record setting productivity and most importantly, happiness.

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Lastly, Finland’s monumental happiness has direct ties to its sustainability and consumption values. The nation was an early adopter of the climate change movement, prophesying to keep deforestation to a minimum, to transition to sustainable innovations such as electric cars, and to implement various environmental policies to decrease the overall and per capita carbon footprint. As it stands now, Finland is one of the most forested countries in the world with some of the most outstanding pollution, carbon footprint, and biological productivity metrics. The culmination of this environment-first philosophy creates a beautiful scene for Finns to indulge themselves in on a daily basis, shooting happiness levels up as a result.

Conclusively, there are a multitude of both developed and underdeveloped nations throughout the world that can reasonably adopt at least one of Finland’s multiple practices towards raising overall happiness levels. Within the United States, I personally believe that moving forward, it would most definitely be in our best interest to work from the inside-out, prioritizing income inequality, welfare benefits/compensation, and progressive ideals. While it may be difficult to perfectly emulate Finland’s approach to these causes, putting forth effort to do so WILL result in happiness gains for the United States and all countries who follow in Finland’s footsteps.

What do you think the United States should do? Does it make sense to utilize Finland’s strategies or do you suggest a different approach moving forward?

Works Cited

Sousa, Gregory. “The Economy of Finland.” WorldAtlas, WorldAtlas, 25 Apr. 2017, https://www.worldatlas.com/articles/the-economy-of-finland.html.

Väänänen, Heikki. “What Makes Finland the Happiest Country in the World?” Forbes, Forbes Magazine, 10 Dec. 2021, https://www.forbes.com/sites/heikkivaananen/2020/05/26/what-makes-finland-the-happiest-country-in-the-world/?sh=12752ee175cc.