The Politics of Happiness: What Government Can Learn from the New Research on Well-Being

New insights into what makes people happy and how policymakers can foster greater satisfaction for all

During the past forty years, thousands of studies have been carried out on the subject of happiness. Some have explored the levels of happiness or dissatisfaction associated with typical daily activities, such as working, seeing friends, or doing household chores. Others have tried to determine the extent to which income, family, religion, and other factors are associated with the satisfact...