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On the Foundations of Happiness in Economics

Author: Maurizio Pugno

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2016-05-20

Total Pages: 263

ISBN-13: 1317560841

Economic growth has extraordinarily increased the availability of market goods to satisfy people’s need for comfort, but at the same time it has also raised great challenges to their working and family life. Will people learn the skill necessary to cope with these challenges and draw full enjoyment from economic growth? On the Foundations of Happiness in Economics explores this question by examining the work of Tibor Scitovsky, author of The Joyless Economy. Given the recent rise of behavioural economics and happiness economics, this book aims to show how far ahead of his time Scitovsky was in his work on individual welfare (or wellbeing). It traces the evolution of Scitovsky’s original thought, arguing that he has been frequently misunderstood, before undertaking formal analysis in order to demonstrate how far his work anticipated or even went beyond the recent advances in economics. This volume also explores Scitovsky’s work in the context of Keynes’ work on wellbeing, offering a new perspective on welfare in the history of economic thought. Other issues discussed in this text regard creativity and social skills, hedonism and eudaimonia, parenting and education, addiction, work/leisure balance, policies for happiness, paternalism, and the quality of economic growth. This book addresses a variety of readers, such as those interested in the history of economics, as well as students and researchers concerned with the economic theory of well-being.

Fundamentals of Happiness

Author: Lall Ramrattan

Publisher: Edward Elgar Publishing

Published: 2021-03-26

Total Pages: 289

ISBN-13: 1839107731

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Examining the fundamental thinking underpinning the foundation for economic studies of happiness, this book explores the theories of key economists and philosophers from the Greek philosophers to more modern schools of thought. Lall Ramrattan and Michael Szenberg explore the general measures of happiness, utility as a method, metrical measures of happiness, happiness in literature and the scope of happiness in this concise book.

Happiness Economics

Author: Bernard M. S. van Praag

Publisher: Now Publishers Inc

Published: 2011

Total Pages: 113

ISBN-13: 1601984383

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HAPPINESS ECONOMICS deals with the concept of happiness in economics. Most economists until recently were very suspicious about happiness economics and the common opinion was that happiness is not empirically measurable. Actually there is now a growing body of serious economists who are willing, either reluctantly or wholeheartedly, to include happiness economics as a part of economic science. For a better understanding of happiness economics, the authors examine the viewpoint of mainstream economics in the introduction. Section 2 starts by considering the methods of analysis in happiness economics. Section 3 considers life satisfaction (or happiness), section 4 considers domain satisfactions, section 5 returns to the ordinality-cardinality question, and Section 6 provides the link between domain satisfactions and satisfaction with life as a whole. Section 7 considers the work of the Leyden school that may be seen as a forerunner of modern happiness economics. Section 8 considers the effect of the individual's reference group on her or his happiness. Section 9 examines the influence of past events and the anticipated future on present life satisfaction. Section 10 deals with the effect of climate and more generally of the external environment on satisfaction. Section 11 considers the effect of inequality on individual happiness and considers happiness inequality per se. Section 12 considers how the vignette approach, so popular in marketing, can be applied in happiness economics. Section 13 delineates the significance of happiness economics for normative economics. And Section 14 draws some conclusions and discusses the relevance of the new findings for economic science and the social sciences in general.

Happiness and Economics

Author: Bruno S. Frey

Publisher: Princeton University Press

Published: 2010-11-16

Total Pages: 233

ISBN-13: 1400829267

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Curiously, economists, whose discipline has much to do with human well-being, have shied away from factoring the study of happiness into their work. Happiness, they might say, is an ''unscientific'' concept. This is the first book to establish empirically the link between happiness and economics--and between happiness and democracy. Two respected economists, Bruno S. Frey and Alois Stutzer, integrate insights and findings from psychology, where attempts to measure quality of life are well-documented, as well as from sociology and political science. They demonstrate how micro- and macro-economic conditions in the form of income, unemployment, and inflation affect happiness. The research is centered on Switzerland, whose varying degrees of direct democracy from one canton to another, all within a single economy, allow for political effects to be isolated from economic effects. Not surprisingly, the authors confirm that unemployment and inflation nurture unhappiness. Their most striking revelation, however, is that the more developed the democratic institutions and the degree of local autonomy, the more satisfied people are with their lives. While such factors as rising income increase personal happiness only minimally, institutions that facilitate more individual involvement in politics (such as referendums) have a substantial effect. For countries such as the United States, where disillusionment with politics seems to be on the rise, such findings are especially significant. By applying econometrics to a real-world issue of general concern and yielding surprising results, Happiness and Economics promises to spark healthy debate over a wide range of the social sciences.

A Modern Guide to the Economics of Happiness

Author: Luigino Bruni

Publisher: Edward Elgar Publishing

Published: 2021-01-29

Total Pages: 328

ISBN-13: 1788978765

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Exploring the modern approach to the economics of happiness, which came about with the Easterlin Paradox, this book analyses and assesses the idea that as a country gets richer the happiness of its citizens remains the same. The book moves through three distinct pillars of study in the field: first analysing the historical and philosophical foundations of the debate; then the methodological and measurements issues and their political implications; and finally empirical applications and discussion about what determines a happy life.

Happiness Explained

Author: Paul Anand

Publisher: Oxford University Press

Published: 2016

Total Pages: 158

ISBN-13: 0198735456

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Offers a response to one of the oldest questions known to humankind namely, what is happiness and how can we ensure that communities are flourishing, happy places for people to live and work?

Economics of Happiness

Author: Bruno S. Frey

Publisher: Springer

Published: 2018-02-26

Total Pages: 75

ISBN-13: 3319758071

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This book focuses on what makes people happy. The author explains methods for measuring subjective life satisfaction and well-being by discussing economic and sociodemographic factors, as well as the psychological, cultural and political dimensions of personal happiness. Does higher income increase happiness? Are people in rich countries, such as the United States, the United Kingdom and Scandinavian countries, happier than those living elsewhere? Does losing one’s job make one unhappy? What is the role of genetic endowments inherited from our parents? How important are physical and emotional health to subjective life satisfaction? Do older people tend to be happier, or younger people? Are close social relationships necessary for happiness? Do political conditions, such as respect for human rights, democracy and autonomy, play a part? How can governments contribute to the population’s happiness? This book answers these questions on the basis of extensive interdisciplinary research reflecting the current state of knowledge. The book will appeal to anyone interested in learning more about the various dimensions of personal well-being beyond the happiness-prosperity connection, as well as to policymakers looking for guidance on how to improve happiness in societies.

The Happy Economist

Author: Ross Gittins

Publisher: Allen & Unwin

Published: 2010

Total Pages: 253

ISBN-13: 1742690777

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A provocative look at an area few economists dare to tread, by Australia's most read economic commentator.

The Practices of Happiness

Author: Ian Steedman

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2010-08-03

Total Pages: 326

ISBN-13: 1136937544

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A PDF version of this book is available for free in open access via www.tandfebooks.com as well as the OAPEN Library platform, www.oapen.org. It has been made available under a Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial-No Derivatives 3.0 license and is part of the OAPEN-UK research project. There is growing evidence that rising levels of prosperity in Western economies since 1945 have not been matched by greater incidences of reported well-being and happiness. Indeed, material affluence is often accompanied instead by greater social and individual distress. A growing literature within the humanities and social sciences is increasingly concerned to chart not only the underlying trends in recorded levels of happiness, but to consider what factors, if any, contribute to positive and sustainable experiences of well-being and quality of life. Increasingly, such research is focusing on the importance of values and beliefs in human satisfaction or quality of life; but the specific contribution of religion to these trends is relatively under-examined. This unique collection of essays seeks to rectify that omission, by identifying the nature and role of the religious contribution to wellbeing. A unique collection of nineteen leading scholars from the field of economics, psychology, public theology and social policy have been brought together in this volume to explore the religious contribution to the debate about happiness and well-being. These essays explore the religious dimensions to a number of key features of well-being, including marriage, crime and rehabilitation, work, inequality, mental health, environment, participation, institutional theory, business and trade. They engage particularly closely with current trends in economics in identifying alternative models of economic growth which focus on its qualitative as well as quantitative dimensions. This unique volume brings to public notice the nature and role of religion’s contribution to wellbeing, including new ways of measurement and evaluation. As such, it represents a valuable and unprecedented resource for the development of a broad-based religious contribution to the field. It will be of particular relevance for those who are concerned about the continuing debate about personal and societal well-being, as well as those who are interested in the continuing significance of religion for the future of public policy.

Happiness—Concept, Measurement and Promotion

Author: Yew-Kwang Ng

Publisher: Springer Nature

Published: 2021-12-03

Total Pages: 188

ISBN-13: 9813349727

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This open access book defines happiness intuitively and explores several common conceptual mistakes with regard to happiness. It then moves on to address topical issues including, but not limited to, whether money can buy you happiness, why happiness is ultimately the only thing of intrinsic value, and the various factors important for happiness. It also presents a more reliable and interpersonally comparable method for measuring happiness and discusses twelve factors, from A to L, that are crucial for individual happiness: attitude, balance, confidence, dignity, engagement, family/friends, gratitude, health, ideals, joyfulness, kindness and love. Further, it examines important public policy considerations, taking into account recent advances in economics, the environmental sciences, and happiness studies. Novel issues discussed include: an environmentally responsible happy nation index to supplement GDP, the East Asian happiness gap, a case for stimulating pleasure centres of the brain, and an argument for higher public spending.