O nível de felicidade de uma população pelos olhos da gestão pública: um estudo no município de Lavras – MG

Abstract

This research aimed to study the origin and the foundations of National Happiness indicator Gross, GNH, and try to do the same relationship with the municipal administration of the city of Lavras-MG. FIB is a social and systemic indicator that emerged in the 1970s in a small Asian country in the Himalayas between India and China, called Kingdom of Bhutan. Its founder was King Jigme Singye Wangchuck, who believed that strictly indicators economic were too shallow to be used as measurement criterion growth and development of a country. The objective of this research was to analyze the perception of local public representatives regarding the level of happiness and satisfaction of Lavras population. Specifically, verify the perception of public officials regarding the level of happiness of lavrenses citizens and as the influence of public administration in the happiness of the population; identify the policies and actions of public management in the population centers of dissatisfaction, since the popular dissatisfactions can attenuate the level of happiness of individuals; and check the activities of the municipal administration in their daily work that are related to the pillars of the FIB that are linked more directly the activities of the municipal public administration. As for methodology, we used descriptive qualitative research. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews with key stakeholders of the municipal administration and to analyze the collected material was used the technique of content analysis. As a result it was found that happiness is something large, complex, abstract. Often happiness is related to how the individual sees his life and his problems. The Lavras people are relatively happy people. Only two respondents said they believe that the happiness index of lavrenses is low, while six respondents said that it is good or high and four others were undecided about their answers. The main dissatisfaction generator factor is related to mismanagement of public resources. This mismanagement is attributed to inefficient management of resources to meet the basic needs of the population and the lack of commitment, ethics, integrity. The FIB is still a little-known indicator that needs to be released and that is far from the reality of the Brazilian municipal public administration. The population of Lavras is not participative in regard to municipal politics.