What makes a society prosperous

I must admit that I felt some stress and anxiety living in China during the novel coronavirus outbreak. But, if I take precautions, I don't think I'm in much real danger. On the other hand, imagine a child who faces constant stress and anxiety because he or she fears being beaten up or worse every day. That kind of stress must be debilitating. It's really not fair. Education and Opportunity for All: A prosperous society also needs to be an opportunity society. Because people naturally favor their own children, no society is ever going to offer truly equal opportunity to all its citizens.

But poor kids who work hard should see opportunities for themselves to build a successful life. Probably, the most important factor in this is the provision of good education for all kids. Like many countries in the world, especially the US, many Chinese believe that success depends on attending a few schools or universities that are seen as really good, at least really prestigious.

But this is very bad for society. It means that only a few children, usually from rich or connected families, have the best opportunities. This needs to change both in China and the US. My country cannot claim to offer good education for all its kids. Despite spending huge amounts of money on public education, many inner-city kids cannot read. It's really not fair and is preventing the US from building a universally prosperous society.

Efficient and Healthy Urbanization: As the world's population rises over the next decades, a huge number of people will move into urban areas.

Building cities that are productive, healthy and pleasant to live in is crucial to future prosperity. Great public transportation makes it possible for all citizens, especially those who cannot afford a car, to move around easily. In many cities in the US, commutes are long and people have to devote a large portion of their incomes to car transportation. This increases measured GDP, but is really a bad, not a good.

Many Chinese cities are also building extensive parks and greenways. Chengdu's Tianfu greenway will be the longest in the world when completed, at almost 17, kilometers.

This will allow citizens to get the exercise they need to be healthy and the experience with nature they need to be happy. It will also allow many people to commute safely by foot or bicycle. An Ecological Civilization: President Xi often emphasizes the goal of building a green, ecological civilization. Quality of life will be prioritized over pure measured GDP growth.

In a January visit to Yunnan province, President Xi emphasized the key elements of a moderately prosperous society in all respects. Interestingly, the EU data also showed no relationship between social progress and the unemployment rate.

And you see all of the social outcomes in Costa Rica tend to outperform their neighbours: it is a more peaceful, more prosperous society.

The higher the rule of law, the more likely the country, at any level of development, will have high health outcomes in maternal mortality rate, life expectancy, catastrophic diseases — all these standard public health outcomes. The top performers generally tend to be rich countries. And so a country becomes more wealthy.

Costa Rica shares a number of similarities with its neighbours, but tends to be more peaceful and prosperous Credit: Alamy. They also can be used to determine how much assistance countries get. Donor countries, like the US, then took it up as a new set of criteria for giving development assistance. Critics also point out that many of the criteria are based on Western values: tolerance for homosexuals, for example, or religious tolerance.

Researchers found , for example, that in all countries except the wealthiest, there was no correlation between rule of law and the status of women. That adds more reason to be cautious with these kinds of indexes, experts say. Depending on who you are, you might experience a very different version of the country than its top-line data. Despite the criticisms, these kinds of indexes make for a good starting point.

Tunisia was one example. Venezuela is another. Despite much being wealthier than its neighbours in the past, today, it is in severe crisis. Among other sets of data, that could have been predicted by its commitment to the rule of law, says Botero. The reverse can be true, too. Answers to the most commonly asked questions here. To read the full version of this content please select one of the options below:.

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