What's Going On in Newfoundland?

While Newfoundland has always been labeled Canada's poorest province, maybe we should also tag it the happiest one. In addition to having the second highest RHI (78.40), Newfoundland has turned in the most positive differential (+31), with 38% of its residents indicating that their state or happiness improved last year, contrasting with only 7% who said the opposite. This data confirm, in some small way at least, the impressive growth in GDP in recent  years. Alberta, however, comes in a close second.

At the other end of the spectrum, Newfoundland's neighbor, Nova Scotia, trails the pack by a difference of more than 14 points.

The Concept of Differential

The concept of differential between improvement and deterioration in the state or happiness of an individual last year is a useful, complementary indication for analyzing the various segments and subgroups in a population, making comparisons between them, and determining which categories in recent months have been the best and worst.

The differential is calculated simply by subtracting the percentage of respondents in a particular group claiming that their  state or happiness improved by the percentage of those who indicated that it had not.