Economic Freedom As a Way to Happiness
The Economic Freedom Network in Asia (EFN Asia) held its annual conference in Bhutan’s capital, Thimphu at the end of November, under the theme of “Economic Freedom as a Way to Happiness”. The conference brought together over 200 delegates from the region and Bhutan to discuss current economic policies and challenges in our region in relation to the path to happiness through the promotion of economic freedom, equitable development, and resilience to changing global realities.
As the main theme of the event suggests, one of the main topics was the Gross National Happiness (GNH) philosophy which was introduced in 1972 by then leader Jigme Singye Wangchuck, Bhutan’s Forth Dragon King. The idea behind GNH was to build up an economy which goes best with Bhutan's Buddhist culture.
At the two-day conference, Dr. Kwon Tae-shin, President of Seoul based Korea Economic Research Institute was invited to deliver a keynote speech, who mainly gave a comparative analysis on the economic development in South and North Korea.
EFN Asia is a network of liberal minded economists and policy makers, founded by the Friedrich Naumann Foundation for Freedom some twenty years ago. It brings together representatives of liberal think-tanks and NGOs for a regular exchange of ideas and experiences. The EFN annual conference takes place in different Asian cities in every October or November. A smaller group of the network met in Jeju Island last May to host a session at the Jeju Forum for Peace and Prosperity.