Bhutan has recently won international recognition for its emphasis on Gross National Happiness
(GNH), a vision of the goal of development offered by His Majesty the Fourth Druk Gyalpo that extends
well beyond the narrower view fostered by the use of indicators including only economic development,
such as gross domestic product (GDP). Given the recent success of efforts to have GNH adopted as
one of the U.N.’s Millennium Development Goals, Bhutan’s ability to move toward increasing GNH
throughout the country is likely to become the focus of intense international scrutiny. Even more importantly,
Bhutan is facing demographic and social trends that could well undermine GNH. For example,
rapid population growth combined with limited arable land poses serious environmental and socioeconomic
challenges and an increase in the proportion of the population that is elderly is likely to strain
available health resources (Gross National Happiness Commission, 2010). Thus, the country’s success