Happy Danes find trust is key

By Teis Hald Jensen

COPENHAGEN (Reuters) - In times like these, no one is immune to depression. But surveys show the Danes are the happiest people in the world, and a core factor is a quality in global short supply -- trust.

From Erasmus University's World Database of Happiness to a World Values Survey from the University of Michigan in late June, the 5.5 million people in the Scandinavian state have ranked top of most happiness surveys for the last 20 years.

As economists probe better ways to measure well-being than pure wealth, they say the Danes -- who are also among the world's most prosperous people -- have a tradition of equality and trust that is not widely replicated.

Perhaps one concrete example of the benefit of this trust can be seen in Denmark's stock exchange.

It has not escaped global carnage -- it is down around 37 percent so far this year -- but over five years it is the top performer among developed markets measured by MSCI Indexes, with a gain of around 13 percent putting it just ahead of oil-rich Norway.

OECD economist Justina Fischer -- a German who has studied subjective well-being and its societal and economic correlations for many years -- puts Denmark's happiness down to the fact that people consume a relatively equal share of the wealth they generate, and trust each other.

"Denmark is one of the countries with the highest level of trust among people," she told Reuters. In other countries, people are more cynical about institutions from government to business, as well as each other.

Denmark was one of the first countries in the current market turmoil to promise an unlimited guarantee on deposits and senior debt in banks.