OECD Better Life Index
France’s ranking - 18th out of 38 countries
What they scored highest in - Work/life balance (8.7/10)
What they scored lowest in - Income (4.4/10)
Figure 2.1 - OECD Better Life Index for France
(http://www.oecdbetterlifeindex.org/countries/france/)
France ranks well in terms of having a good work-life balance, people feeling safe and a healthy population.
However, their most alarming issue is their relatively low score of 4.4 for income, the average household disposable income per capita is USD 31,304 a year which is lower than the OECD average of USD 33,604. Interestingly though, this does not mean the whole population is poor, instead, France suffers from a poor distribution of income. The top 20% of the population earn around 4 times as much as the bottom 20%. A potential solution to this would be opting for more progressive taxes i.e) the percentage of income paid in tax increases as incomes increase. This would help the French government achieve one of its microeconomic objectives, a fairer redistribution of income.
Happiness Index
France’s ranking - 20th out of 150 countries
Figure 2.2 - France ranking in 2020 World Happiness Report https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Happiness_Report#cite_note-47
France scores lowest in terms of its generosity, this is not surprising considering in the OECD better life index, France suffers from low scores for income and also a poor distribution of income. Hence many may feel a lack of generosity typical of a capitalist society where the rich tend to get richer as the poor get poorer with little support.
Happy Planet Index Ranking
France ranking - 44th out of 140 countries, HPI score 30.4
What they scored highest in - Life expectancy (10th of 140 countries)
What they scored lowest in - Ecological footprint (111th of 140 countries)
Figure 2.2 - Happy Planet Index for France
(http://happyplanetindex.org/countries/france)
France ranks highly for its lack of inequality, good wellbeing and high life expectancy so it was fairly surprising that it ranked 44th out of 140 countries contradictory of its high rankings in these variables.
What hurts France the most is its poor ecological footprint, ranked 111th of 140, France joins many first world countries culprit of having alarmingly high ecological footprints. France consumes 5.1 global hectares per person, this high value is synonymous for many first world countries who due to their wealthy economies consume relatively more goods and services then poorer nations and so have a greater economic footprint per individual.
That is to say, even if a poorer nation may have a larger population and so consume more goods and services overall, the amount of goods and services per capita divides total consumption by population to give a more accurate representation of a country's ecological footprint. The average person in a first world country will likely consume more than the average person in a third world country.
This index would prove the reason why France should focus less on its GDP and more on its ecological footprint. GDP represents the real output of a country, if a country prioritises GDP growth a byproduct would be the negative externalities associated with both producing and in turn consuming these goods and services. The more goods and services produced, the more pollution produced, the more natural resources used, etc. Hence by prioritising GDP growth, France’s opportunity cost would be the worsened ecological footprint.
The budget and national debt
https://tradingeconomics.com/france/government-budget
https://tradingeconomics.com/france/government-debt-to-gdp
Between 2016 and 2020 France consistently maintained a budget deficit, however, between 2016 and 2019 this value was relatively stable, not fluctuating excessively. In 2020, the coronavirus changed this and France suffered a budget deficit 3x that of the previous year. This was due to France’s response to the global pandemic. In particular 26% of GDP was accumulated to be used for emergencies and recovery measures. (https://www.imf.org/en/News/Articles/2021/01/15/na011921-five-charts-on-frances-policy-priorities-to-navigate-the-covid19-crisis) This is common by many governments, money is borrowed to respond to emergency situations whether that be natural disasters, financial crisis or military related situations. However, this means national debt increase as a result.
