Author : L. Bruni
Publisher : Edward Elgar Publishing
Page : 635 pages
File Size : 50,11 MB
Release : 2007-01-01
Category : Business & Economics
ISBN : 1847204155
This book is a welcome consolidation and extension of the recent expanding debates on happiness and economics. Happiness and economics, as a new field for research, is now of pivotal interest particularly to welfare economists and psychologists.
Author : Bruno S. Frey
Publisher : Springer
Page : 79 pages
File Size : 48,34 MB
Release : 2018-02-26
Category : Business & Economics
ISBN : 3319758071
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.
Author : Bruno S. Frey
Publisher : Princeton University Press
Page : 233 pages
File Size : 24,49 MB
Release : 2010-11-16
Category : Business & Economics
ISBN : 1400829267
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.
Author : Joachim Weimann
Publisher : MIT Press
Page : 223 pages
File Size : 14,69 MB
Release : 2015-02-06
Category : Business & Economics
ISBN : 0262028441
Can money buy happiness? Is income a reliable measure for life satisfaction? In this book, three economists explore the happiness-prosperity connection, investigating how economists measure life satisfaction and well-being. --
Author : Mariano Rojas
Publisher : Springer Nature
Page : 489 pages
File Size : 24,72 MB
Release : 2019-09-13
Category : Business & Economics
ISBN : 3030158357
This book presents a panoramic view of the implications from Richard Easterlin’s groundbreaking work on happiness and economics. Contributions in the book show the relevance of the Easterlin Paradox to main areas, such as the relationship between income and happiness, the relationship between economic growth and well-being, conceptions of progress and development, design and evaluation of policies for well-being, and the use of happiness research to address welfare economics issues. This book is unique in the sense that it gathers contributions from senior and top researchers in the economics of happiness, whom have played a central role in the consolidation of happiness economics, as well as promising young scholars, showing the current dynamism and consolidation of happiness economics.
Author : James E. Allen, PhD, MSPH, NHA, IP
Publisher : Springer Publishing Company
Page : 399 pages
File Size : 23,43 MB
Release : 2017-07-26
Category : Psychology
ISBN : 0826132839
Written in a conversational style yet empirically grounded, this book reviews what we know about the science of happiness. It is the first text to closely examine the social psychological processes as well as individualistic approaches that affect happiness. It explores how our social, cultural, and economic environment, the personal choices we make, and our evolutionary heritage shape our happiness. Topics that are inherently interesting to students such as how income and unemployment, marriage, children, and relationships, health, work, religion, economic growth, and personal safety affect happiness, are reviewed. Research from psychology, economics, and sociology is examined providing an interdisciplinary perspective of this fascinating field. Social issues such as income inequality and the effects of advertising, materialism, and competition are also explored. Highlights include: Covers both the socio-structural issues and individual differences that impact our happiness providing the most comprehensive coverage of any text available. Emphasizes a social psychological approach that considers factors such as income, economics, culture, work, materialism, relationships, religion, and more, often ignored in other texts. Relates the material to students’ lives by posing questions throughout the text to further spark interest in the subject matter. Highlights the latest research and the methodologies used to obtain it to help students better understand how to interpret results. Reviews the evidence that shows that happiness can change over time and how to increase it. Examines how positive emotions and how we interpret events impacts our well-being, along with empirically verified interventions and possible societal changes that can improve happiness. Features a chapter on evolutionary psychology that suggests that there are limits to happiness but how it can be enhanced by pursuing behaviors associated with the successes of our ancestors. Intersperses summary paragraphs throughout the chapters to facilitate learning. Provides discussion questions, activities, assignments, and suggested videos, websites, examples, and additional readings in the instructor’s resources to stimulate critical thinking and class discussion. Features web based instructor’s resources including PowerPoints, sample syllabi, lecture tips and suggestions, and more. Intended for as a text upper-division courses in the psychology of happiness or positive psychology or as a supplement in courses in social or health psychology or psychology of adjustment.
Author : Richard Layard
Publisher : Penguin
Page : 302 pages
File Size : 44,52 MB
Release : 2006-06-27
Category : Psychology
ISBN : 1101117710
There is a paradox at the heart of our lives. We all want more money, but as societies become richer, they do not become happier. This is not speculation: It's the story told by countless pieces of scientific research. We now have sophisticated ways of measuring how happy people are, and all the evidence shows that on average people have grown no happier in the last fifty years, even as average incomes have more than doubled. The central question the great economist Richard Layard asks in Happiness is this: If we really wanted to be happier, what would we do differently? First we'd have to see clearly what conditions generate happiness and then bend all our efforts toward producing them. That is what this book is about-the causes of happiness and the means we have to effect it. Until recently there was too little evidence to give a good answer to this essential question, but, Layard shows us, thanks to the integrated insights of psychology, sociology, applied economics, and other fields, we can now reach some firm conclusions, conclusions that will surprise you. Happiness is an illuminating road map, grounded in hard research, to a better, happier life for us all.
Author : Lok Sang Ho
Publisher : Routledge
Page : 172 pages
File Size : 49,71 MB
Release : 2013-10-30
Category : Psychology
ISBN : 1134577389
Much attention has been given to the economics of everyday life, which typically applies economic principles to the analysis of the different choices that people face under different situations. Yet there are hardly any books on the economics of life—an economics that takes the finite lifespan as the starting point and that looks at how one can maximize the subjective value from life given the constraint of the limited lifespan. In this volume, Lok Sang Ho suggests that the lack of progress in happiness among developed countries despite significant economic growth is due to a deficit of "mental goods", rather than a lack of material goods. The author stresses the role of culture and mental habits in determining the efficacy of gaining mental goods which includes love, a sense of security and autonomy, contentment, self-esteem, self-acceptance, and freedom from anxiety. Drawing on empirical research, the book explores how to invest, work, and consume from a whole life perspective, arguing that every action - consumption, investment, or work - should enhance the total quality of life. This overriding concern about life itself is known as love. The Psychology and Economics of Happiness uses the analytical framework of economists on a subject studied by positive psychologists, drawing both from empirical evidence and from psychological literature. It will be of interest to researchers and academics interested in economic and positive psychology, as well as those from related fields keen to learn more about living fuller, happier lives.
Author : Bruno S. Frey
Publisher : MIT Press (MA)
Page : 302 pages
File Size : 16,11 MB
Release : 2007
Category : Business & Economics
ISBN :
"The integration of economics and psychology has created a vibrant and fruitful emerging field of study. The essays in Economics and Psychology take a broad view of the interface between these two disciplines, going beyond the usual focus on "behavioral economics." As documented in this volume, the influence of psychology on economics has been responsible for a view of human behavior that calls into question the assumption of complete rationality (and raises the possibility of altruistic acts), the acceptance of experiments as a valid method of economic research, and the idea that utility or well-being can be measured. The contributors, all leading researchers in the field, offer state-of-the-art discussions of such topics as pro-social behavior and the role of conditional cooperation and trust, happiness research as an empirical tool, the potential of neuroeconomics as a way to deepen understanding of individual decision making, and procedural utility as a concept that captures the well-being people derive directly from the processes and conditions leading to outcomes. Taken together, the essays in Economics and Psychology offer an assessment of where this new interdisciplinary field stands and what directions are most promising for future research, providing a useful guide for economists, psychologists, and social scientists."--Descripción del editor.
Author : Nick Powdthavee
Publisher : Icon Books Ltd
Page : 264 pages
File Size : 19,30 MB
Release : 2010-08-05
Category : Social Science
ISBN : 1848312245
Why is marriage worth £200,000 a year? Why will having children make you unhappy? Why does happiness from winning the lottery take two years to arrive? Why does time heal the pain of divorce or the death of a loved one – but not unemployment? Everybody wants to be happy. But how much happiness – precisely – will each life choice bring? Should I get married? Am I really going to feel happy about the career that I picked? How can we decide not only which choice is better for us, but how much it's better for us? The result of new, unique research, The Happiness Equation brings to a general readership for the first time the new science of happiness economics. It describes how we can measure emotional reactions to different life experiences and present them in ways we can relate to. How, for instance, monetary values can be put on things that can't be bought or sold in the market – such as marriage, friendship, even death – so that we can objectively rank them in order of preference. It also explains why some things matter more to our happiness than others (like why seeing friends is worth more than a Ferrari) while others are worth almost nothing (like sunny weather). Nick Powdthavee – whose work on happiness has been discussed on both the Undercover Economist and Freakanomics blogs – brings cutting-edge research on how we value our happiness to a general audience, with a style that wears its learning lightly and is a joy to read.
