Emotional Temperature: The Linkage scenario

The coining of the term emotional temperature in stating the state of mind in this current chaotic world divulges evils on many counts such as the degrading world environment, the post-Covid syndrome on health-related issues, and unfortunately, the inflationary pressure on the world economy. Bangladesh’s placement as the seventh saddest nation in the world out of 122 countries in this mapping may be a reminder of the unpreparedness facing the ordeal in the near future. There are many ways emotional temperature may be calibrated but the desperations reflected in various social evils such as rampant deaths caused by accident and the atrocities committed in various ways is a testament to the decaying state of emotional conduit. The manifestation of the emotional temperature is reiterated in the throngs of people who trek from door to door just one week back in Dhaka and all over the metropolitan city in Bangladesh for a slice of the sacrificial meat in Eid- Ul- Azha. Perhaps, it did not escape your notice of the desperation and frustration in their facial expression and the cruel treatment from a section of the well-to-do class of people in the society. This scenario at once reminded us of the status of Bangladesh as the seventh among the world’s angriest, saddest, and most stressed nations in the world revealed in the report entitled “ 2022 global Emotions report”. The report was published by the Gallup poll who conducted face to face survey with 1000 people between February 27 and March 30, 2022. Jon Clinton, the global managing partner of Gallup, which did the survey asserted that the world is suffering from war, inflation, and a once-in-a-lifetime pandemic; the polling group surveyed 127,000 adults and found that 2021 was more stressful than 2020.

You can raise several issues with this survey, the sampling frame, coverage, the sample selection process, the abruptness, and finally the unstable state of mind. The sampling error is another crucial aspect and more importantly the objectivity in the measurement embedded in the selection of reliable and viable instruments. Nevertheless, the survey revealed many harsh facts in both regional and global contexts. Indeed, the world is in the throes of paroxysm, pangs, and pain that was initially triggered by the Covid-19 pandemic and spewed the disruptions in the world supply chain management and subsequently in the world energy and gas crisis in the escalation of Russian - Ukraine war. The economic embargo on Russia and now the current uninterrupted inflationary trend in the global economy is quite opposite to the deflationary trend the world was experiencing just a few years back and cohabiting in a liquidity trap, often considered by many economists as a distant reality in the macroeconomic management of the global economy. With inflation rising sharply and the spree of interest rate hikes by the Fed, European Central Bank [ECB], Bank of England [ BOE], and Bank of Japan [ BOJ], the world is facing an increased risk of a downward or recession. However, there is speculation that any temporary pain caused by a recession would be “ a necessary price to pay “ to defeat damaging inflation. Fed implemented the biggest increase in its benchmark lending rate in nearly 30 years, as part of its aggressive effort to quell inflation that is at a four-decade high and squeezing American families struggling with rising prices for gasoline, food, and housing.

The linkage scenario that begets this downward emotional temperature in our day-to-day life is obvious in the stress one has to cope with just to survive every day. Compare the rush in any traffic movement last week all over Bangladesh and when you critically look at the lead caption on July 4, 2022, as one of the saddest nations in the world, you may feel a pinch in your heart. Unfortunately, the graduation episode draws a regression according to the Global Emotions Report 2022. The daily newspapers point to the austerity measures by the governments on many counts and the common people are suffering from power outages. Though it is very difficult to quantify happiness or unhappiness as the concept is loaded with subjectivity, however a person with a job that pays the minimum income to lead a simple life could be happy and be complacent with the question and be positive when asked, “ Think about how you felt yesterday, Were you angry? and so on. Indeed, positive and negative emotions spring from economic well-being and social surroundings. A congenial environment for the well-being of people is ensured through measures prescribed by the sovereign government.

The objectivity of the emotional state of people may be compared with your position on a ladder; with the lowest rung representing the worst possible life and the highest rung representing the best possible life. People rated where they stand today and where they expect to stand in three years. Based on how they respond, Gallup classifies them as thriving, struggling, or suffering. Bangladesh is suffering not even struggling or thriving. The state of suffering manifests that the virtue of resilience is on the wane. When we consider the five contributing factors the report identifies, we categorically observe that the scarcity of good work and bad communities are the two necessary evils in Bangladesh. The share of labor in many instances is disproportionality low in terms of productivity even for the unskilled people.

Parallelism may be drawn with another report, the World Happiness Report with almost identical findings but with a more objective assessment. Bangladesh ranked 94th on the list among 146 countries according to the UN-sponsored World Happiness Report 2022 released on March 18, 2022. Nevertheless, there are certain soft spots in our development riddle that probably we could not address during this long journey. The most perilous area is the lack of freedom and widespread corruption, both in the public and private sectors. Indeed, the low rankings on many indices and reports indicate utter hollowness in this drive.

The writer is the Treasurer and a Professor at the School of Business and Economics, United International University. He may be contacted at obaidur@ eco.uiu.ac.bd