The Politics of Happiness: What Government Can Learn from the New Research on Well-Being (Hardcover) (ISBN-13: 9780691144894)

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 satisfaction people feel about their lives. The Gallup organization has begun conducting global surveys of happiness, and several countries are considering publishing periodic reports on the growth or decline of happiness among their people. One nation, tiny Bhutan, has actually made "Gross National Happiness" the central aim of its domestic policy. How might happiness research affect government policy in the United States--and beyond? In The Politics of Happiness, former Harvard president Derek Bok examines how governments could use the rapidly growing research data on what makes people happy--in a variety of policy areas to increase well-being and improve the quality of life for all their citizens.

Bok first describes the principal findings of happiness researchers. He considers how reliable the results appear to be and whether they deserve to be taken into account in devising government policies. Recognizing both the strengths and weaknesses of happiness research, Bok looks at the policy implications for economic growth, equality, retirement, unemployment, health care, mental health, family programs, education, and government quality, among other subjects. Timely and incisive, The Politics of Happiness sheds new light on what makes people happy and how government policy could foster greater satisfaction for all.

Author: Derek Bok
ISBN-10: 0691144893
ISBN-13: 9780691144894
Publisher: Princeton University Press
Language: English
Published: 02/21/2010
Pages: 272
Format: Hardcover
Weight: 1.10lbs
Size: 9.48h x 6.58w x 0.90d

Review Citation(s):
Publishers Weekly 01/25/2010 pg. 104
New York Times Book Review 02/21/2010 pg. 16
Library Journal 03/15/2010 pg. 113
New Yorker (The) 03/22/2010 pg. 72
New York Review of Books 12/23/2010 pg. 46
Choice 01/01/2011
Christian Century 01/11/2011 pg. 22