1. Work-life balance - the ratio of number of hours worked to leisure time
2. Reduced traffic congestion - how much time is spent sitting in traffic jams
3. Mood -how much time is spent feeling happy or sad
4. Chores - do people have enough time to carry out childcare, cleaning, and DIY? (I'm not completely sure, but I believe DIY is an acronym for do it yourself actrivities.)
5. Recycling
6. Gratification - is life filled with short-term pleasures and more fulfilling long-term satisfaction
7. Insecurity - do people feel financially secure and safe in their homes
8. Gender - are men and women treated fairly in the workplace and home
9. Taxes - do people get their money's worth from the government
10. Relationships - whether people have time to see friends and relatives regularly

Not a bad list at all, and what I want to highlight is that while some of these criteria can only be measured by subjective report (e.g., mood), many of the others allow more objective measurement.

Here Sarkozy joins forces with a philosphical approach to happiness known as objective list theory (Nussbaum, 1992; Sen, 1985). By this view, there really are truly valuable things in the world, and happiness entails achieving some number of these: freedom from disease, material comfort, a career, friendships, children, education, knowledge, and so on. The methodological implication of objective list theory is that we need to ascertain whether these truly valuable things have been attained by an individual. Furthermore, we need not even talk to them. The problem is of course deciding what these things are. I believe there is more consensus than a strict relativist might assert, but there are still gray areas and difficult tradeoffs among the items on anyone's list of what is objectively good and indicative of consensual happiness.

Nonetheless, Sarkozy's list is a bold start.

What would you include in your objective list of criteria for happiness, for the nation in which you live or just more locally for the life you lead? I suspect a US list might mention choice and freedom, and maybe something about religion - considerations not mentioned in the French list. My idiosyncratic list would include whether on a given day I finished doing something (like my laundry or a PT blog entry), had a good meal, gave a good lecture, saw an NCIS rerun that was new to me, and - of course - had an engaging conversation with a friend. Happiness may not be all that complicated.

References

Nussbaum, M. (1992). Human functioning and social justice: In defense of Aristotelian essentialism. Political Theory, 20, 202-246.

Sen, A. (1985). Commodities and capabilities. Amsterdam: North-Holland.