Happiness Around the World: The Paradox of Happy Peasants and Miserable Millionaires [Hardcover]

Carol Graham (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 8, 2010

For centuries the pursuit of happiness was the preserve of either the philosopher or the voluptuary and took second place to the basic need to survive on the one hand, and the pressure to conform to social conventions and morality on the other. More recently there is a burgeoning interest in the study of happiness, in the social sciences and in the media. Can we really answer the question what makes people happy? Is it really grounded in credible methods and data? Is there consistency in the determinants of happiness across countries and cultures? Are happiness levels innate to individuals or can policy and the environment make a difference? How is happiness affected by poverty? By economic progress? Is happiness a viable objective for policy? This book is an attempt to answer these questions, based on research on the determinants of happiness in countries around the world, ranging from Peru and Russia to the U.S. and Afghanistan.

The book reviews the theory and concepts of happiness, explaining how these concepts underpin a line of research which is both an attempt to understand the determinants of happiness and a tool for understanding the effects of a host of phenomena on human well being. The research finds surprising consistency in the determinants of happiness across levels of development. Yet there is still much debate over the relationship between happiness and income. The book explores the effects of many mediating factors in that relationship, ranging from macroeconomic trends and democracy to inequality and crime. It also reviews what we know about happiness and health and how that relationship varies according to income levels and health status. It concludes by discussing the potential--and the potential pitfalls--of using happiness surveys to contribute to better public policy.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Offers a welcome, thought-provoking, and engaging snapshot of this emerging field."--Science

"A comprehensive synthesis of research on determinants of happiness.... It is time that sociologists join economists in pursuit of answers to the question, 'what makes us happy?'"--Contemporary Sociology

"In the past decade there has emerged a substantial literature on the economics of happiness. What makes people happy--earnings, health, the economic environment, the political system, neighbors, family? And what effect does happiness have on earnings, health, and the political system? A prodigious contributor to that literature is Dr. Carol Graham, who has now assembled a masterful review of the subject."--Thomas Schelling, Nobel Laureate in Economics 2005, Distinguished University Professor, Emeritus, University of Maryland

"Most of us could not imagine what it would be like to live in Afghanistan. But Afghans are happier, at least by a little bit, than the average for the world as a whole. They, like people everywhere, are tremendously adaptable, and manage to smile even through the worst of it. Money may make some difference, but it is not everything. Carol Graham, in this well-written volume, describes what makes people happy, and what makes them sad, and shows what the new economics of happiness means for economic and social policy."--George Akerlof, Nobel Laureate in Economics, Koshland Professor of Economics, University of California at Berkeley

"This is a wide-ranging and thoughtful survey of what makes people happy, including fascinating original research and important and provocative conclusions."--Professor Lord Richard Layard, Centre for Economic Performance, London School of Economics

About the Author

Carol Graham is Senior Fellow and Charles Robinson Chair at the Brookings Institution and College Park Professor at the University of Maryland. She served as Vice President and Director of Governance Studies at Brookings from 2002-2004 and as a Special Advisor to the Deputy Managing Director of the IMF. She was a Special Adviser to the Executive Vice President of the Inter-American Development Bank while on a Council on Foreign Relations International Affairs Fellowship, and has consulted at a number of international financial institutions. Her research has received support from the Hewlett, Tinker, and MacArthur Foundations, as well as the Office of the Chief Economist of the World Bank. She is the author of numerous books and articles on poverty, inequality, and social welfare policy. Graham has an A.B. from Princeton University, an M.A. from The Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies and a Ph.D. from Oxford University.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 272 pages
• Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA (February 8, 2010)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0199549052
• ISBN-13: 978-0199549054
• Product Dimensions: 5.7 x 0.8 x 8.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,007,733 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Carol Graham is Senior Fellow and Charles Robinson Chair at the Brookings Institution and College Park Professor at the University of Maryland. She served as Vice President and Director of Governance Studies at Brookings from 2002-2004 and as a Special Advisor to the Deputy Managing Director of the IMF. She was a Special Adviser to the Executive Vice President of the Inter-American Development Bank while on a Council on Foreign Relations International Affairs Fellowship, and has consulted at a number of international financial institutions. Her research has received support from the Hewlett, Tinker, and MacArthur Foundations, as well as the Office of the Chief Economist of the World Bank. She is the author of numerous books and articles on poverty, inequality, and social welfare policy. Graham has an A.B. from Princeton University, an M.A. from The Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies and a Ph.D. from Oxford University.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars I'm happy I read this book!! July 31, 2010

By Stephen Pletko TOP 1000 REVIEWER

Format:Hardcover

XXXXX

Consider these eight questions:

(1) What makes people happy?
(2) Does more money make you happy?
(3) If money does not make people happy, what does?
(4) Where and how does the average person find happiness?
(5) Is there consistency in the determinants of happiness across countries and cultures?
(6) Are happiness levels innate to individuals or can policy and the environment people live in make a difference?
(7) How is happiness affected by poverty or progress?
(8) Is happiness a viable objective for public policy?

These are some of the questions answered in this book by Carol Graham. Graham is Senior Fellow at the Brookings Institution (a public policy think tank located in Washington that conducts research in the social sciences) and professor at the University of Maryland. She also is the author of many books and articles on poverty, inequality, and novel measures of well-being.

The first chapter reviews the theory and concepts of happiness and how they have evolved historically. The next chapter looks into the relationship between happiness and income while the third chapter reviews the correlates of happiness in large population samples around the world (in countries such as Chile, Kazakhstan, Peru,, Russia, the United States, and Afghanistan).

The fourth chapter examines how happiness matters to outcomes that we care about (such as health and employment). Chapter five is devoted to health (said to be one of the most important variables in the happiness equation). The sixth chapter presents what we know about the effects of macroeconomics trends (such as economic growth, inequality, inflation, and unemployment) on happiness while chapter seven explores the role of different institutional arrangements (such as political regimes, social networks, crime) on happiness.

The final chapter of this book discusses the potential of happiness surveys to contribute to better public policy.

This is the first in-depth study of happiness which crosses many countries and regions, including developed and developing countries.

Many of the chapters have a "conclusions" or summary section. I found these most beneficial.

Note that this is a very scholarly book that examines the concept of happiness seriously. Thus, it is filled with graphs and tables.

Finally, I particularly enjoyed the quotations that headed many of the chapters. For example:

(1) "Will increasing the incomes of all increase the happiness of all?" (Richard Easterlin)
(2) "When I sell liquor, it's called bootlegging; when my patrons serve it on Lake Shore Drive, it's called hospitality." (Al Capone)

In conclusion, I found that I learned surprisingly much about happiness "around the world" after reading this book. Like me, you'll probably be happy that you read this book (and perhaps even more happy that you read my review of it)!!!

(first published 2009; preface; lists of figures and tables; abbreviations; introduction; 8 chapters; main narrative 230 pages; references; index)

<<Stephen Pletko, London, Ontario, Canada>>

XXXXX

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent overview of the research and what it means March 24, 2010

By andy

Format:Hardcover

Graham does a great job summarizing both her own research and the related literature. She shows how the determinants of happiness -- age, family structure, employment, etc. -- are similar in countries as diverse as the United States and Afghanistan. We all know that GDP is not a great measure of the happiness of a society, but Graham provides one of the first comparative looks at how people really feel in various societies.

9 of 12 people found the following review helpful

2.0 out of 5 stars Not for the layperson September 2, 2010

By chungking

Format:Hardcover

This book is a giant econometrics paper. If you're an academic looking for research data on happiness, it could be just the thing for you.

If you're a layperson wondering how to be happier, you won't get much here. It is extremely academic. Do you understand how to interpret a Pseudo R-squared statistic? Remember your chi-square distribution?

My favorite book on the topic of happiness is The How of Happiness: A Scientific Approach to Getting the Life You Want. It too is backed by research, but the focus is on actionable results, rather than data analysis.