The Economics of Happiness

1. Front Matter

   Pages i-xxvi

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2. Introduction

   1. Front Matter

      Pages 1-1

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   2. The Relevance of Richard A. Easterlin’s Groundbreaking Work. A Historical Perspective

      • Mariano Rojas

      Pages 3-24

3. Income and Happiness

   1. Front Matter

      Pages 25-25

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   2. Different Versions of the Easterlin Paradox: New Evidence for European Countries

      • Caspar F. Kaiser, Maarten C. M. Vendrik

      Pages 27-55

   3. Lottery Wins and Satisfaction: Overturning Brickman in Modern Longitudinal Data on Germany

      • Andrew J. Oswald, Rainer Winkelmann

      Pages 57-84

   4. Relative Income, Subjective Wellbeing and the Easterlin Paradox: Intra- and Inter-national Comparisons

      • Arthur Grimes, Marc Reinhardt

      Pages 85-105

   5. Relative Income and Happiness in Latin America: Implications for Inequality Debates

      • Mariano Rojas

      Pages 107-126

4. Happiness in Welfare Economics

   1. Front Matter

      Pages 127-127

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   2. Does Happiness Improve Welfare Economics a Lot?

      • Gabriel Leite Mota

      Pages 129-156

   3. Why the Easterlin Paradox? The Scitovsky Hypothesis

      • Maurizio Pugno

      Pages 157-170

   4. Homo Economicus and Happiness: Towards More Sustainable Development

      • Martin Binder

      Pages 171-191

5. Applications of Happiness in Economics

   1. Front Matter

      Pages 193-193

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   2. Distaste for Inequality? The Role of Risk Aversion

      • Ada Ferrer-i-Carbonell, Xavier Ramos

      Pages 195-215

   3. Advertising as a Major Source of Human Dissatisfaction: Cross-National Evidence on One Million Europeans

      • Chloe Michel, Michelle Sovinsky, Eugenio Proto, Andrew J. Oswald

      Pages 217-239

   4. What Makes for a Good Job? Evidence Using Subjective Wellbeing Data

      • Christian Krekel, George Ward, Jan-Emmanuel De Neve

      Pages 241-268

6. Happiness in Development

   1. Front Matter

      Pages 269-269

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   2. Unhappiness as an Engine of Economic Growth

      • Stefano Bartolini

      Pages 271-301

   3. Keynes’ Grandchildren and Easterlin’s Paradox: What Is Keeping Us from Reducing Our Working Hours?

      • Johannes Hirata

      Pages 303-317

   4. Using Well-Being Metrics to Assess Social Well-Being and Ill-Being: Lessons from Rising Mortality Rates in the United States

      • Carol Graham, Sergio Pinto

      Pages 319-353

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.

• Consolidation of Happiness Economics
• Economic Growth and Well-Being
• Easterlin Paradox
• Happiness along the Life Course
• Happiness in Welfare Economics
• Happiness Research and Policy Implicatons
• Income and Happiness
• Relationship between Economic Growth and Happiness
• Scientific Approach in the Study of Happiness
• Subjective Measures of Well-Being
• Happiness in Politics
• Richard Easterlin

• FLACSO-México & UPAEP, Tlalpan, Ciudad de México, Mexico

  Mariano Rojas

Mariano Rojas is Professor of Economics at Facultad Latinoamericana de Ciencias Sociales, Sede México and at Universidad Popular Autónoma del Estado de Puebla, Mexico. He holds a Ph.D in economics from The Ohio State University, United States. His areas of research are: Subjective Well-Being, Happiness, Quality of Life, Poverty Studies, Economic Development and Social Progress. He was the President of the International Society for Quality of Life Studies, which is the largest and oldest academic Society addressing the issues of quality of life, happiness and well-being. He has published the books entitled The Scientific Study of Happiness (Fondo de Cultura Económica, Mexico) and Can the Economy provide Happiness? (RBA, Spain). Mariano Rojas also edited the Handbook of Happiness Research in Latin America (Springer) and co-edited the Global Handbook of Quality of Life: Exploration of Well-Being of Nations and Continents (Springer). He has published more than 100 academic papers and bookchapters, mostly about happiness-related issues. Mariano Rojas also coordinated the Mexican Initiative Measuring the Progress of Societies: A Perspective from Mexico, which aimed to make a contribution from Latin America to the global discussion on new ways of conceiving and measuring social performance and progress. He has edited many books dealing with paradigm shift in the notion of social progress, such as: The Measurement of Progress and Well-Being; Proposals from Latin America.

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