Thursday, June 16, 2011

Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About Happiness . . . .

One of the link groupings from Bookforum yesterday was titled Implications of the happiness agenda, and the variety of links was very interesting.

Marek Hlavac (Harvard): Subjective Life Satisfaction in the European Union: Determinants and Policy Implications. Who's happier, Europeans or Americans? Americans really do love to work, it seems, while Europeans are much happier if they skip burning the midnight oil in favor of leisure. US doesn't make cut for happiest nations list: Feel good about yourself and your life? There's a chance you might be Danish. Razib Khan on “gross national happiness” in numbers. The economics of unhappiness: What level of affluence might fulfill us? Two European economists stir the debate. Is there a better measure of happiness than GDP? (and more) Andrew Oswald considers recent moves in economics, famously the most dismal of sciences, to take the happiness and psychological health of the population as seriously as a country's GDP. An interview with Geoff Mulgan, co-founder of Action for Happiness on the philosophy, politics and economic implications of the happiness agenda. Can money buy happiness? Evidence from industrial wage dispersion. Research suggests income disparity makes people unhappy. In a time of vicious budget debates on Capitol Hill, a new study finds that the path to happiness might be through big government. Thomas J. DiLorenzo on the Trojan Horse of "happiness research". William Davies on the uses and abuses of "happiness". Is happiness really possible in a time of ruin? John Zerzan on happiness. Can we become "happy citizens" in a climate of insecurity? A new study sheds light on "dark side of happiness". The poison of unhappiness: Friends and exercise make us happy, unhappy people drag us down. Can you search too hard for happiness? Sometimes the trick to finding joy is to stop obsessing over it (and more). Feeling happy? Don't be too smug as chances are you will die young.

One of the links is to a Psychology Today page filled with even more links on happiness:

Can You Search Too Hard for Happiness?


Sometimes the trick to finding joy is to stop obsessing over it.



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