Med Jones

Med Jones (a.k.a. Med Yones) is an American economist. He is the president of the International Institute of Management, a U.S.-based research organization focused on economic, investment, and business strategies.^[1]

Career

The Great Recession of 2008

Med Jones is among the economists who predicted the Great Recession of 2008, which stemmed from the 2000s United States housing bubble, the subprime mortgage crisis, and the 2008 financial crisis.^[2][3] In a 2006 white paper, he identified the housing bubble and consumer debt as major U.S. economic risks between 2007 and 2017.^[4][5] In a March 2007 Reuters interview, he stated that the impact of subprime mortgages would extend beyond the housing sector, and warned of increased bankruptcies, a stock market crash, and a loss of confidence in the U.S. economy. According to Reuters, he said: "The bursting of the real estate bubble and high consumer debt are a major worry" and "if people start to think there may be a lot of bankruptcies (in the subprime lending market), then you're going to see the stock market sell-off." He also warned of a potentially worse economic crisis from subprime mortgages, stating that "The worst thing that could happen to any economy is the loss of confidence".^[6]

In 2011, the U.S. News & World Report noted that Jones' predictions were among the most accurate of the economists who predicted the crisis.^[7][8][9]

Investors and investment advisors who follow Jones' predictions consider him to be a prominent independent-thinking money manager and economist.^[10]

Views on economic forecasting and Wall Street

Despite his forecasting record regarding the Great Recession and its recovery, Jones advised investors against relying on his forecasts. He believes economic forecasting is unreliable and that Wall Street is similar to a casino. In an interview, he stated, "I do not advise anyone to invest based on my outlook of the economy. The truth is that when people invest on Wall Street, they are essentially making bets about the future." Additionally, despite recognition for his work in economics, he attempts to distance himself from the economics profession.^[11]

Gross National Happiness Index - GNH Index

The term "GNH Index" (GNH) was coined in 1972 by Dutch pioneer and fourth president of the European Commission, Sicco Mansholt. GNH is often misattributed to Bhutan's fourth King, Jigme Singye Wangchuck, who popularized the concept in the late 1990s.^[12] The GNH philosophy suggests that promoting happiness is the ideal purpose of governments. Implementing this philosophy has been challenging due to the subjective nature of happiness, the lack of an exact quantitative definition of GNH,^[13] and the absence of a practical model to measure the impact of economic policies on citizens' subjective well-being.

In 2005, Jones introduced the first "GNH Index", also known as the Gross National Well-being Index (GNW Index).^[14][15] A year later, in 2006, he published a white paper titled "The American Pursuit of Unhappiness," urging policymakers, economists, and researchers to implement the first GNH Index framework.^[16][17] The initiative was widely referenced in academic and research papers, which cited the GNH index as a model for economic development and measurement.^[18]

In 2009, in the United States, the Gallup poll system launched a happiness survey and collected data nationally.^[19] The Gallup Well-Being Index ^[1]was modelled after the GNH Index framework of 2005.^[20] The Well-Being Index score is an average of six sub-indexes measuring life evaluation, emotional health, work environment, physical health, healthy behaviors, and access to basic necessities. In October 2009, the USA scored 66.1/100. The GNH Index framework continued to influence subsequent initiatives. In a 2012 report prepared for US Congressman Hansen Clarke, researchers Ben Beachy and Juston Zorn at the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University, recommended that "the Congress should prescribe the broad parameters of new, carefully designed supplemental national indicators; it should launch a bipartisan commission of experts to address unresolved methodological issues and include alternative indicators." They proposed that the government could use survey results to identify which well-being dimensions are least satisfied and which districts and demographic groups are most deficient, to allocate resources accordingly. The report listed the GNH Index and its seven measurement areas as one of the main frameworks to consider.^[21] That year, Professor Peter T. Coleman, director of the International Center for Cooperation and Conflict Resolution at Columbia University, suggested that Jones' GNH Index initiative could guide the development of the Global Peace Index Initiative (GPI).^[22]

In 2012, South Korea launched the Happiness Index, citing the GNH Index framework. The government of Goa, India, cited the GNH Index framework as a model for measuring happiness in its 2030 Vision and Roadmap.^[23][24] In 2014, the government of Dubai launched its localized Happiness Index to measure public contentment and satisfaction with government services. The United Kingdom also launched its own well-being and happiness statistics.^{[25][26][relevant?]}

Other noteworthy Happiness Index initiatives that followed the GNH Index of 2005 include the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development OECD Better Life Index in 2011, the World Happiness Report in 2011, the UN General Assembly Resolution 65/309 titled "Happiness: towards a holistic approach to development"^{[27][sentence fragment][relevant?]} in 2011, and the Social Progress Index SPI in 2013.

Political views

Med Jones is identified as an independent in his profile on Wall Street Economists.^[28]