What if charities were evaluated not on the basis of how much they improve people’s health or increase their incomes, but on the basis of how happy they make people?
It’s an argument that moral philosopher Michael Plant has been making for years.
Plant, who founded and leads the Happier Lives Institute, says people’s happiness should serve as the most important measure of a charity’s cost-effectiveness, or how much impact it generates per dollar. Founded in 2019, the institute conducts research and advises donors on how to increase well-being in low-income countries.