Choice Reviews Online · 2008 · 598 citations · 0 references
Social SciencesEconomicsEconomic PolicyPolitical EconomyPublic EconomicsEconomic OutcomesWelfare EconomicsEconomic WelfareFederal BailoutsTheory Of HappinessUnemployment Dynamics
Happiness research, the quantification of well‑being, offers a rare opportunity to address questions beyond standard economics, but the field’s conservative bias hampers the adoption of such novel ideas. The paper seeks to show that happiness research can fundamentally transform economics by addressing questions that conventional methods cannot. The author empirically substantiates the three revolutionary claims by tracing happiness research developments and analyzing how macro variables and diverse topics influence well‑being. The findings reveal that happiness research revolutionizes economics by introducing subjective well‑being metrics, uncovering non‑material value dimensions, and suggesting policy reforms—particularly stronger institutions and decentralization—to improve individual well‑being, thereby charting a path for future research.
A leading economist discusses the potential of happiness research (the quantification of well-being) to answer important questions that standard economics methods are unable to analyze.Revolutionary developments in economics are rare. The conservative bias of the field and its enshrined knowledge make it difficult to introduce new ideas not in line with received theory. Happiness research, however, has the potential to change economics substantially in the future. Its findings, which are gradually being taken into account in standard economics, can be considered revolutionary in three respects: the measurement of experienced utility using psychologists' tools for measuring subjective well-being; new insights into how human beings value goods and services and social conditions that include consideration of such non-material values as autonomy and social relations; and policy consequences of these new insights that suggest different ways for government to affect individual well-being. In Happiness, emphasizing empirical evidence rather than theoretical conjectures, Bruno Frey substantiates these three revolutionary claims for happiness research. After tracing the major developments of happiness research in economics and demonstrating that we have gained important new insights into how income, unemployment, inflation, and income demonstration affect well-being, Frey examines such wide-ranging topics as democracy and federalism, self-employment and volunteer work, marriage, terrorism, and watching television from the new perspective of happiness research. Turning to policy implications, Frey describes how government can provide the conditions for people to achieve well-being, arguing that a crucial role is played by adequate political institutions and decentralized decision making. Happiness demonstrates the achievements of the economic happiness revolution and points the way to future research.