The origins of happiness : the science of well-being over the life course / Andrew E. Clark, Sarah Flèche, Richard Layard, Nattavudh Powdthavee and George Ward.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Clark, Andrew E., author.

Flèche, Sarah, author.

Layard, Richard, 1934- author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Happiness.

Physical Description:

viii, 325 pages : illustrations ; 23 cm

Place of Publication:

Princeton, New Jersey : Princeton University Press, [2018]

Summary:

"What makes people happy? Why should governments care about people's well-being? How would policy change if well-being was the main objective? The Origins of Happiness seeks to revolutionize how we think about human priorities and to promote public policy changes that are based on what really matters to people. Drawing on a uniquely comprehensive range of evidence from longitudinal data on over one hundred thousand individuals in Britain, the United States, Australia, and Germany, the authors consider the key factors that affect human well-being. The authors explore factors such as income, education, employment, family conflict, health, childcare, and crime -- and their findings are not what we might expect. Contrary to received wisdom, income inequality accounts for only two percent or less of the variance in happiness across the population; the critical factors affecting a person's happiness are their relationships and their mental and physical health. More people are in misery due to mental illness than to poverty, unemployment, or physical illness. Examining how childhood influences happiness in adulthood, the authors show that academic performance is a less important predictor than emotional health and behavior, which is shaped tremendously by schools, individual teachers, and parents. For policymakers, the authors propose new forms of cost-effectiveness analysis that places well-being at center stage. Groundbreaking in its scope and results, The Origins of Happiness offers all of us a new vision for how we might become more healthy, happy, and whole. "-- Provided by publisher.

Contents:

1 Happiness over the Life Course: What Matters Most? 15

Part I What Makes a Happy Adult?

2 Income 33

3 Education 51

4 Work and Unemployment 61

5 Building a Family 77

6 Health of Mind and Body 89

7 Crime 105

8 Social Norms and Institutions 115

9 Happiness at Older Ages 129

Part II What Makes a Successful Child?

10 Family Income 153

11 Working Parents 161

12 Parenting and Parents' Mental Health 169

13 Family Conflict 179

14 Schooling 187

Part III So What?

15 Measuring Cost-Effectiveness in Terms of Happiness 197

16 The Origins of Happiness 211.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages 257-299) and index.

ISBN:

9780691177892

0691177899

OCLC:

1021859918