The Programme of Happiness

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Economic Migration and Happiness: Comparing Immigrants’ and Natives’ Happiness Gains From Income

Research on happiness casts doubt on the notion that increases in income generally bring greater happiness. This finding can be taken to imply that economic migration might fail to result in increased happiness for the migrants: migration as a means of increasing one’s income might be no more effective in raising happiness than other means of increasing one’s income. This implication is counterintuitive: it suggests that migrants are mistaken in believing that economic migration is a path to improving one’s well-being, at least to the extent that well-being means (or includes) happiness. This paper considers a scenario in which it is less likely that migrants are simply mistaken in this regard. The finding that increased incomes do not lead to greater happiness is an average (non)effect—and migrants might be exceptional in this regard, gaining happiness from increased incomes to a greater extent than most people. The analysis here, using data from the World Values Survey, finds that the association between income and happiness is indeed stronger for immigrants in the USA than for natives—but even for immigrants that association is still relatively weak. The discussion then considers this finding in light of the fact that immigrants also report lower levels of happiness than natives after controlling for other variables.     

Project Happiness Helps Mothers Living in Poverty

Project Happiness, since its launch in 1995, has been successfully implemented across China. So far, project sites have been established in 466 counties of 28 of the country抯 31 provinces (municipalities and autonomous regions), with a combined investment of RMB160 million including donations, poverty-alleviation funds from the central government and matching funds from local governments. A total of 120,000 poor mothers have been helped out of poverty and more than 500,000 people have benef…     

Resolution of the Happiness–Income Paradox

It is widely believed that happiness is strongly correlated with wealth and income, but according to the happiness–income paradox, this is not always true. The paradox predicates that there is a strong positive correlation between income and happiness nationally, but the correlation is essentially absent in international comparisons, or in a long-term longitudinal comparison. This paradox has been widely debated among economists and the controversy has persisted for several decades. In this article, the happiness–income paradox is explained in terms of ecological correlation due to spatial aggregation or data-grouping, change of reference classes, and confounding variables. The controversy is resolved when ecological correlations and third-variable effects are accounted for. At the individual level, happiness and income are correlated positively, but not as strongly as many believe. In international comparisons, happiness and income are, in general, quite strongly correlated as well, contrary to what Easterlin (Nations and households in economic growth: essays in honor of Moses Abramovitz, Academic Press, New York, 1974) claimed and similar to what others have found, but for different reasons. Long-term comparison is also related to ecological correlation, but it is related to the change of reference classes as well.     

Does Education Affect Happiness? Evidence for Spain

In this paper we study the impact of education on happiness in Spain using individual-level data from the European Social Survey, by means of estimating Ordinal Logit Models. We find both direct and indirect effects of education on happiness. First, we find an indirect effect of education on happiness through income and labour status. That is, we find that people with a higher education level have higher income levels and a higher probability of being employed, and thus, report higher levels of happiness. Second, and after controlling by income, labour status and other socio-economic variables, we find that education has a positive (and direct) impact on happiness. We interpret this result as evidence of a ??self-confidence?? or ??self-estimation?? effect from acquiring knowledge. Finally, we find that the direct impact of education on happiness does not depend of the level of education (primary, secondary or tertiary).     

Happiness Inequality: How Much is Reasonable?

We compute the Gini indexes for income, happiness and various simulated utility levels. Due to decreasing marginal utility of income, happiness inequality should be lower than income inequality. We find that happiness inequality is about half that of income inequality. To compute the utility levels we need to assume values for a key parameter that can be interpreted as a measure of relative risk aversion. If this coefficient is above one, as many economists believe, then a large part of happiness inequality is not related to pecuniary dimensions of life.     

Harmony as Happiness? Social Harmony in Two Chinese Societies

This paper reconstructs a concept of harmony in two Chinese societies: Hong Kong and China, by utilizing the measures and empirical data of harmony surveys. The data collected in harmony surveys reveal people’s perceptions of social harmony in the two places. Meta-analysis of the harmony data and the related measures yields the concepts of social harmony in the two places. A reconstructed concept is formed by integrating the extracted ones. A comparison is done between this concept and the notions of wellbeing or happiness of these two societies to identify similarities and differences. It is argued that though semantically not identical, the two concepts share enough overlaps to warrant the view that a suitably developed measure of social harmony, no less than that of happiness, could be used as a comparatively useful measure of the well-being of Chinese societies. This paper may provide a useful conceptual basis for developing such an alternative measure.     

Happiness and Satisfaction: Measures of Affect and Cognition?

Analyses of data from six national samples of adult respondents indicated that happiness could be predicted better from cognitive measures of domain satisfaction and work attitudes than from a measure of positive affect, thereby calling into question the widely accepted argument that satisfaction measures are cognitive and happiness measures affective in orientation. Perhaps distinctions between cognitive and affective measures are illusory in studies of subjective well being.     

Is the Study of Happiness a Worthy Scientific Pursuit?

This paper critiques the view that the study of happiness is not a worthy scientific pursuit. The happiness set point and hedonic treadmill theories denote the complexity of increasing happiness levels due to genetic limitations and adaptation, however, there is mounting evidence to suggest that with the use of appropriate measures and specific interventions aimed at fostering strengths and virtues, happiness can be increased. Furthermore, the benefits of investigating methods for increasing happiness include improvements in physical, psychological and social health and well-being. It is concluded that approaching human needs from a top down or holistic standpoint where individuals can use their strengths to overcome life’s challenges, is beneficial to health and well-being. Hence, the study of happiness is a worthy scientific pursuit.     

Liushou Women’s Happiness and its Influencing Factors in Rural China

The economic development of urban cities in China has attracted a large number of labour from the rural countryside. The married migrant workers will usually leave their wives’ homes to look after the other family members and the farmland. A special term liushou women, has been created for this group of women. Among the 87 million rural residents, 47 million of them are liushou women according to the recent survey conducted by China Agricultural University. They play a crucial role in the development of rural economy and an essential role to the social stability of rural China. In this research, the factors that influence the happiness of liushou women were investigated in the Western part of China. Based on the population investigated, it was found that the financial situation, personality, government efficiency, conjugal relationship and relationship with in-laws are the significant factors influencing the happiness of liushou women. This finding demonstrates that the Chinese women are willing to sacrifice their personal interest for the interests of their families.     

The Use of Different Happiness Rating Scales: Bias and Comparison Problem?

This paper uses data of reported happiness which is measured at 4, 5, 7 and 11 likert-scale points. A group of 137 respondents was selected to study the comparison problem on the estimated mean happiness using direct rescaling. It is found that the 11-point scale’s estimated mean happiness is significantly higher than the 4 and 7-point scale. This paper also proposes an alternate method of rescaling using transition probabilities as weights. This adjusted rescaling resembles the calculation of expected value and provides better mean comparison.     

Improving Well-Being in Bhutan: A Pursuit of Happiness or Poverty Reduction?

Increasing happiness is a key priority for the Bhutanese government. This priority displaces more traditional (economic) objectives such as the pursuit of income growth and the reduction of income poverty. This paper examines the implications of this approach by examining whether there are common correlates of the four following measures of human well-being in Bhutan: income poverty; multidimensional poverty; perceived poverty; and happiness. Our findings suggest that whilst there is a degree of commonality, determinants of the different measures of well-being are distinct. Common factors include having a savings account, levels of literacy and household size. Further we show that higher levels of income poverty, multidimensional poverty and perceived poverty are found to be negatively associated with happiness. Importantly, our findings suggest that a focus on increasing happiness might come at the expense of improving other measures of wellbeing.     

Residents’ Happiness Index Directs Policies Reflected in The Twelfth Five-year Plan of Different Provinces

This year is the first year of the Twelfth Five-Year Plan period. National People’s Conference(NPC) and the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference(CPPCC) have taken place in different provinces since January.In these conferences,briefly summarized,"Happiness"becomes a hot word. To enhance the happiness index, to develop properly according to people’s livelihood,and to share the fruits of development with the people have become the common consensus.Beijing advocates,"     

The Wealth of Nations and the Happiness of Nations: Why “Accounting” Matters

We review income-happiness research in light of competing theoretical frameworks, unit of analysis, and methodological issues. Within-countries, absolute income is weakly related to happiness, comparison effects depend on the measure utilized, and income change and perceived income produce inconsistent findings. Across countries, absolute income is a stronger predictor of happiness, different comparison effects are significant, income change results are predominantly positive, and the financial-life satisfaction relationship is more robust.     

Happiness for Infertile Couples： An Introduction to Zhangzhou Medical Centre for Treatment of Infertility

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Greater Happiness for a Greater Number: Did the Promise of Enlightenment Come True?

In the eighteenth century ‘Enlightened’ thinkers challenged the belief that happiness exists only in Heaven. They claimed that happiness is possible in earthly life and foresaw that greater happiness would be achieved using reason. Did this promise of greater happiness come true? Several scholars doubt that we have become any happier and some claim that happiness has declined. These critical claims are tested using the time trend data available in the World Database of Happiness, which cover the period 1950–2010 and involve 1531 data points in 67 nations yielding 199 time-series ranging for 10 to more than 40 years. The analysis reveals that happiness has risen in most nations. The average yearly rise in the 67 nations was +0.012 on scale 0–10, which equals a rise of one full point every 83 years. At this rate happiness must have improved by more than two points over the past two centuries and, together with increasing longevity, this denotes an unprecedented rise in happy life years.     

Money, Sociability and Happiness: Are Developed Countries Doomed to Social Erosion and Unhappiness?

Discovering whether social capital endowments in modern societies have been subjected or not to a process of gradual erosion is one of the most debated topics in recent economic literature. Inaugurated by Putnam??s pioneering studies, the debate on social capital trends has been recently revived by Stevenson and Wolfers (2008) contending Easterlin??s assessment. Present work is aimed at finding evidence for the relationship between changes in social capital and subjective well-being in western Europe, Australia, Canada and Japan between 1980 and 2005. In particular, I would like to answer questions such as: (1) is social capital in western Europe, Canada, Australia and Japan declining? Is such erosion a general trend of modern and richer societies or is it a characteristic feature of the American one? (2) can social capital trend help explain subjective well-being trend? Therefore, present research considers three different set of proxies of social capital controlling for time and socio-demographic aspects using WVS-EVS data between 1980 and 2005. Present results are encouraging, showing evidence of positive correlation between several proxies of social capital and both happiness and life satisfaction. Furthermore, results show that during last twenty-five years people in some of the most modern and developed countries have persistently lost confidence in the judicial system, religious institutions, parliament and civil service.     

On Well-Being and Public Policy: Are We Capable of Questioning the Hegemony of Happiness?

Measuring the well-being of citizens has become established practice in many advanced democracies. In the move to go beyond GDP, indicators of subjective well-being (SWB) have come to the fore, and are increasingly seen as providing a ‘yardstick’ to guide public policy. A strong version of this position is that SWB can (and should) provide the sole basis on which to design and evaluate public policy. This article argues that the increasing dominance of the subjective definition of well-being is problematic, and amounts to a hegemony of happiness. The article examines the fundamental assumptions behind different accounts of well-being, and develops a critique of the ‘strong position’ that sees SWB as the ultimate guide for public policy. First, the connections between the modern debate and classical schools of thought are discussed, and the strong Benthamite SWB approach is contrasted with the alternative Aristotelian capabilities approach. Next, the article examines current practice, using the UK’s Measuring National Well-being Programme as a case study. Finally, the article concludes that SWB has questionable legitimacy as a summary indicator of objective quality of life, and does not, on its own, provide a reliable metric for public policy. The capabilities approach, which takes a pluralist perspective on well-being and prioritises freedom and opportunity, offers a richer and more useful foundation for policy.     

What Makes You Happy?: A Comparison of Self-reported Criteria of Happiness Between Two Cultures

Based on the cross-cultural psychosocial notion of individualism and collectivism, comparisons between two contrasting cultures with regard to the criteria for avowed happiness were made. The Happiness Questionnaire, which contains four open-ended questions (e.g., “What makes you happy?”), and two objective items assessing the level of perceived happiness were administered to Canadian and Korean students. The responses to the four questions were content-analyzed along 14 categories. Comparisons of the proportions in each of the 14 categories revealed that, although the students from the two cultures differed in their absolute level of perceived happiness, they seemed to employ essentially the same ordered set of criteria in expressing their avowed happiness.     

Co-development of Happiness Research: Addition to “Fifty Years After the Social Indicator Movement”

Social Indicators Research covers many topics, which each have their own history. Happiness research is one of these included topics. Longstanding interest in happiness revived since the 1960s together with the emergence of the social indicator movement. Happiness became a prominent issue in the movement and the movement has fostered the development of happiness research in several ways.