国内生产总值（Gross Domestic Product, GDP）自引入以来一直以来是衡量经济增长的主要指标。然而GDP指标过于注重经济产值及其增长速度，忽略了物品和劳务在市场以外会产生的影响，也无法显示生产过程中忽视的资源基础、环境条件、社会成本、收入差距、分配与社会公正、社会福利等诸多方面的代价。1974年，伊斯特林(Easterlin)提出“幸福——收入悖论”(Happiness-Income Paradox)，认为当国家变得更富有时，人们的平均幸福水平并不随着经济的增长持续提高。许多国家正在致力于建立新的能够有效衡量国民经济与社会综合发展的指标体系。1972年，不丹王国国王吉格梅•辛格•旺楚克（Jigme Singye Wangchuck）提出用国民幸福指数（Gross National Happiness, GNH）代替国内生产总值（GDP）。不丹国王认为，人生基本的问题是如何在物质生活和精神生活之间保持平衡。不丹创造性地提出了由经济增长、环境保护、文化发展和政府善治四个方面组成的国民幸福指数。本文通过对世界各国关于幸福指数和主观幸福度的研究文献的考察，介绍了国外幸福指数的理论成果和实践研究，明确界定了国民幸福指数的概念，提出建立我国国民幸福指数指标体系的构想。国民幸福指数指标体系由四个维度构成：经济有效增长、社会综合发展、环境资源保护、居民心理满意。在这四个维度之下，本文初步构想了国民幸福指数评价体系的主要内容，指出国民幸福指数指标体系的设计原则、量化方法与实施说明，并论述了国民幸福指数指标体系对社会主义和谐社会构建的积极意义。国民幸福指数的内容与社会主义和谐社会的目标和任务具有一致性。建议用国民幸福指数作为社会主义和谐社会的评价体系，来衡量经济、社会、环境和居民心理满意度的协调综合发展，促进社会的进步与和谐程度。

Since its introduction, the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) has become the foremost indicator of economic progress in most countries. The GDP indicators concerned much more about economic product and growth, but ignored the crucial economic functions performed in the household and volunteer sectors, and the contributions of the natural habitat in providing the resources that sustain us. In 1974, Easterlin posed the happiness-income paradox: average happiness levels do not increase as countries grow wealthier. Many societies are trying to work out a new measure of development in economy well-being, society, environment and human being. In 1972, Bhutan's leader, King Jigme Singye Wangchuck, decided to make his nation's priority not its GDP but its GNH (Gross National Happiness).The king said that the main problem was to keep a balance between material life and spiritual life. Bhutan’s GNH is composed of economic prosperity, cultural preservation, environment protection and good governance. Based on the review of theory and applications of the Gross National Happiness, This paper introduced the concept of the GNH, identified the meaning of this concept, and developed a category of indicators of the GNH including economy growth, society development, environment protection and subjective satisfaction. Also, this paper discussed the conceptualization, the construction of the GNH and the principles, methods and operationalization of its measurement in Chinese society, pointed out that the category of the indicators of the GNH can also be a measurement of Chinese Socialist Harmonious Society.