Economist's lessons on happiness (Springer Nature Switzerland AG)

Once called the "dismal science," economics now offers prescriptions for improving people's happiness. In this book Richard Easterlin, the "father of happiness economics," draws on a half-century of his own research and that conducted żeby fellow economists and psychologists to answer in plain language questions like: Can happiness be measured$1175 Will more money make me happier$1176 What about finding a partner$1177 Getting married$1178 Having a baby$1179 More exercise$1180 Does religion help$1181 Who is happier-women or men, young or old, rich or poor$1182 How does happiness change as we go through different stages of life$1183 Public policy is also in the mix: Can the government increase people's happiness$1184 Should the government increase their happiness$1185 Which countries are the happiest and why$1186 Does a country need to be rich to be happy$1187 Does economic growth improve the human lot$1188 Some of the answers are surprising (no, more money won't do the trick; neither will economic growth; babies are a mixed blessing!), but they are all based on reason and well-vetted evidence from the fields of economics and psychology.

In closing, Easterlin traces the genesis of the ongoing "Happiness Revolution" and considers its implications for people's lives down the road.