Download or read book Happiness Growth and the Life Cycle written by Richard A. Easterlin and published by OUP Oxford. This book was released on 2010-11-25 with total page 304 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The second in a series of books published with the IZA and honoring the work of its annual prize winners in labour economics. It presents Richard Easterlin's outstanding research on the analysis of subjective well-being, and on the relationship between demographic developments and economic outcomes.

Download or read book Luxury Fever written by Robert H. Frank and published by Simon and Schuster. This book was released on 2001-04-02 with total page 337 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A new luxury fever has America in its grip. Independent of stock prices, recessions, and inflation rates, the past two decades have witnessed a spectacular and uninterrupted rise in luxury consumption. Ordinary, functional goods are no longer acceptable. Our cars have gotten larger, heavier, and far more expensive. Mansions larger than 30,000 square feet no longer seem extravagant. Wristwatches for the super-rich cost tens of thousands of dollars. We are living in an era of excess. Consider: The average house built in the United States today is nearly twice as large as its counterpart from the 1950s. Even as houses have gotten more expensive and farther from the workplace, there has been a sharp increase in second-home ownership. The average price of an automobile sold in the United States now exceeds $22,000, up more than 75 percent from a decade ago. Total U.S. spending on luxury goods increased 21 percent between 1995 and 1996 (typical of recent years), while overall merchandise sales increased only 5 percent. Robert Frank caused a national debate in 1995 when he and co-author Philip Cook described the poisonous spread of "winner-take-all" markets. Now he takes a thought-provoking look at the flip side of spreading inequality: as the super-rich set the pace, everyone else spends furiously in a competitive echo of wastefulness. The costs are enormous: We spend more time at work, leaving less time for family and friends, less time for exercise. Most of us have been forced to save less and spend and borrow much more. The annual rate at which American families file for personal bankruptcy has grown to one in seventy. Budgetary pressures have reduced our willingness to fund even essential public services: Our food and water are increasingly contaminated. Potholes proliferate, and traffic delays double every ten years. Frank offers the first comprehensive and accessible summary of scientific evidence that our spending choices are not making us as happy and healthy as they could. Furthermore, he argues that human frailty is not at fault. The good news is that we can do something about it. We can make it harder for the super-rich to overspend, and capture our own competitive energy for the public good. Luxury Fever boldly offers a way to curb the excess and restore the true value of money.

Download or read book Nations and Households in Economic Growth written by Paul A. David and published by Academic Press. This book was released on 2014-05-10 with total page 428 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Nations and Households in Economic Growth: Essays in Honor of Moses Abramovitz is a collection of papers that reflect the broad sweep of Moses Abramovitz's interests within the disciplines of economics and economic history. This work is organized into two parts encompassing 14 chapters. The first part discusses the individual and social welfare significance of quantitative indices of economic growth. This part also deals with the mechanisms of economic-demographic interdependence and their bearing particularly upon "long swings in the rate of growth. The second part highlights the changing role of international relations in processes generating national economic development and domestic economic instability. This book will be of value to economists, historians, and researchers.

Download or read book The Joyless Economy The Psychology of Human Satisfaction written by Tibor Scitovsky Professor Emeritus in Economics Stanford University and published by Oxford University Press, USA. This book was released on 1992-02-11 with total page 358 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Originally published in 1976, this work attempted to establish the legitimacy of understanding economic behaviour in psychological terms. This revised edition stresses the fact that economic abundance does not necessarily lead to satisfaction, and includes new material on contemporary applications.

Download or read book Happiness Economics written by Bernard M. S. van Praag and published by Now Publishers Inc. This book was released on 2011 with total page 113 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: HAPPINESS ECONOMICS deals with the concept of happiness in economics. Most economists until recently were very suspicious about happiness economics and the common opinion was that happiness is not empirically measurable. Actually there is now a growing body of serious economists who are willing, either reluctantly or wholeheartedly, to include happiness economics as a part of economic science. For a better understanding of happiness economics, the authors examine the viewpoint of mainstream economics in the introduction. Section 2 starts by considering the methods of analysis in happiness economics. Section 3 considers life satisfaction (or happiness), section 4 considers domain satisfactions, section 5 returns to the ordinality-cardinality question, and Section 6 provides the link between domain satisfactions and satisfaction with life as a whole. Section 7 considers the work of the Leyden school that may be seen as a forerunner of modern happiness economics. Section 8 considers the effect of the individual's reference group on her or his happiness. Section 9 examines the influence of past events and the anticipated future on present life satisfaction. Section 10 deals with the effect of climate and more generally of the external environment on satisfaction. Section 11 considers the effect of inequality on individual happiness and considers happiness inequality per se. Section 12 considers how the vignette approach, so popular in marketing, can be applied in happiness economics. Section 13 delineates the significance of happiness economics for normative economics. And Section 14 draws some conclusions and discusses the relevance of the new findings for economic science and the social sciences in general.

Download or read book Gross National Happiness and Macroeconomic Indicators in the Kingdom of Bhutan written by Sriram Balasubramanian and published by International Monetary Fund. This book was released on 2019-01-17 with total page 26 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This paper examines the origins and use of the concept of Gross National Happiness (or subjective well-being) in the Kingdom of Bhutan, and the relationship between measured well-being and macroeconomic indicators. While there are only a few national surveys of Gross National Happiness in Bhutan, the concept has been used to guide public policymaking for the country’s various Five-Year Plans. Consistent with the Easterlin Paradox, available evidence indicates that Bhutan’s rapid increase in national income is only weakly associated with increases in measured levels of well-being. It will be important for Bhutan to undertake more frequent Gross National Happiness surveys and evaluations, to better build evidence for comovement of well-being and macroeconomic concepts such as real national income.

Download or read book Happiness in Nations written by R. Veenhoven and published by . This book was released on 1993 with total page 365 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book Economic Dignity written by Gene Sperling and published by Penguin. This book was released on 2021-10-12 with total page 385 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: “Timely and important . . . It should be our North Star for the recovery and beyond.” —Hillary Clinton “Sperling makes a forceful case that only by speaking to matters of the spirit can liberals root their belief in economic justice in people’s deepest aspirations—in their sense of purpose and self-worth.” —The New York Times When Gene Sperling was in charge of coordinating economic policy in the Obama White House, he found himself surprised when serious people in Washington told him that the Obama focus on health care was a distraction because it was “not focused on the economy.” How, he asked, was the fear felt by millions of Americans of being one serious illness away from financial ruin not considered an economic issue? Too often, Sperling found that we measured economic success by metrics like GDP instead of whether the economy was succeeding in lifting up the sense of meaning, purpose, fulfillment, and security of people. In Economic Dignity, Sperling frames the way forward in a time of wrenching change and offers a vision of an economy whose guiding light is the promotion of dignity for all Americans.

Download or read book The Political Economy of Human Happiness written by Benjamin Radcliff and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2013-03-25 with total page 215 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Data, methods and theories of contemporary social science can be applied to resolve how political outcomes in democratic societies determine the quality of life that citizens experience. Radcliff seeks to provide an objective answer to the debate between left and right over what public policies best contribute to people leading positive and rewarding lives. Radcliff offers an empirical answer, relying on the same canons of reason and evidence required of any other issue amenable to study through social-scientific means. The analysis focuses on the consequences of three specific political issues: the welfare state and the general size of government, labor organization, and state efforts to protect workers and consumers through economic regulation. The results indicate that in each instance, the program of the Left best contributes to citizens leading more satisfying lives and, critically, that the benefits of greater happiness accrue to everyone in society, rich and poor alike.

Download or read book Encyclopedia of Quality of Life and Well Being Research written by Alex C. Michalos and published by Springer. This book was released on 2014-02-12 with total page 7347 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The aim of this encyclopedia is to provide a comprehensive reference work on scientific and other scholarly research on the quality of life, including health-related quality of life research or also called patient-reported outcomes research. Since the 1960s two overlapping but fairly distinct research communities and traditions have developed concerning ideas about the quality of life, individually and collectively, one with a fairly narrow focus on health-related issues and one with a quite broad focus. In many ways, the central issues of these fields have roots extending to the observations and speculations of ancient philosophers, creating a continuous exploration by diverse explorers in diverse historic and cultural circumstances over several centuries of the qualities of human existence. What we have not had so far is a single, multidimensional reference work connecting the most salient and important contributions to the relevant fields. Entries are organized alphabetically and cover basic concepts, relatively well established facts, lawlike and causal relations, theories, methods, standardized tests, biographic entries on significant figures, organizational profiles, indicators and indexes of qualities of individuals and of communities of diverse sizes, including rural areas, towns, cities, counties, provinces, states, regions, countries and groups of countries.

Download or read book Happiness Economics and Politics written by Amitava Krishna Dutt and published by Edward Elgar Publishing. This book was released on 2009-01-01 with total page 373 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: For those already drawn by the allure of happiness studies, Dutt and Radcliff here provide a rich tour of the frontier in the field. And for curmudgeons, this work goes far to defuse the skeptical reflex. It is subtle, intelligent, wide-ranging, informative and even readable throughout. James K. Galbraith, The University of Texas at Austin, US This timely and important book presents a unique study of happiness from both economic and political perspectives. It offers an overview of contemporary research on the emergent field of happiness studies and contains contributions by some of the leading figures in the field. General issues such as the history and conceptualization of happiness are explored, and the underpinning theories and empirics analyzed. The ways in which economic and political factors both separately and interactively affect the quality of human life are examined, illustrating the importance of a self-consciously multi-disciplinary approach to the field. In particular, the effects of consumption, income growth, inequality, discrimination, democracy, the nature of government policies, and labor organization on happiness are scrutinized. In conclusion, the contributors prescribe what can and should be done at individual and societal levels to improve human well-being and happiness. This wide-ranging and interdisciplinary book makes a unique contribution to the literature. As such, it will prove a fascinating read for students and scholars of economics, political science, psychology, sociology, and of course, to those with a special interest in the analysis of happiness and human well-being.

Download or read book The Consumer Society written by Neva R. Goodwin and published by Island Press. This book was released on 2013-04-16 with total page 427 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The developed countries, particularly the United States, consume a disproportionate share of the world's resources, yet high and rising levels of consumption do not necessarily lead to greater satisfaction, security, or well-being, even for affluent consumers. The Consumer Society provides brief summaries of the most important and influential writings on the environmental, moral, and social implications of a consumer society and consumer lifestyles. Each section consists of ten to twelve summaries of critical writings in a specific area, with an introductory essay that outlines the state of knowledge in that area and indicates where further research is needed. Sections cover: Scope and Definition Consumption in the Affluent Society Family, Gender, and Socialization The History of Consumerism Foundations of Economic Theories of Consumption Critiques and Alternatives in Economic Theory Perpetuating Consumer Culture: Media, Advertising, and Wants Creation Consumption and the Environment Globalization and Consumer Culture Visions of an Alternative This book is the second volume in the Frontier Issues in Economic Thought series, which provides surveys of the most significant writings in emergent areas of economics -- an invaluable aid in fast-growing fields where genuine new ground is being broken. The series brings together economists, sociologists, psychologists, and philosophers to develop analyses that challenge and enrich the dominant neoclassical paradigm. The Consumer Society is an essential guide to and summary of the literature of consumption and will be of interest to anyone concerned with the deeper economic, social, and ethical implications of consumerism.

Download or read book The Pursuit of Happiness written by Carol L. Graham and published by Brookings Institution Press. This book was released on 2012-07-25 with total page 178 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In The Pursuit of Happiness, renowned economist Carol Graham explores what we know about the determinants of happiness and clearly presents both the promise and the potential pitfalls of injecting the "economics of happiness" into public policymaking. While the book spotlights the innovative contributions of happiness research to the dismal science, it also raises a cautionary note about the issues that still need to be addressed before policymakers can make best use of them.

Download or read book International Differences in Well Being written by Ed Diener and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2010-03-10 with total page 508 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book brings together the best of current global research on the measurement and understanding of international differences in well-being

Download or read book The Allocation of Economic Resources written by Moses Abramovitz and published by . This book was released on 1966 with total page 244 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book Choosing the Right Pond written by Robert H. Frank and published by New York ; Oxford [Oxfordshire] : Oxford University Press. This book was released on 1985 with total page 328 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Is money the major factor in shaping the marketplace? Is salary the prime consideration in job satisfaction? Not necessarily, according to Robert Frank. Economists, Frank charges, have refused to treat people as people, and consequently they have painted a distorted picture of the marketplace. Economists have too often neglected fundamental elements of human nature and therefore have failed to ask many obviously important questions and have offered wrong or at best misleading answers to the questions they do ask. This challenging and provocative book offers an alternative to the prevailing view of human beings as economic automatons. Individual desires--notably the quest for status--profoundly affect the marketplace. "Status concerns play dominant roles in many of the most important private transactions and underlie much of the regulatory apparatus we observe in the modern welfare state," Frank writes. The book offers a radical reinterpretation of what private markets can and cannot do and suggests new ways of looking at familiar regulations and social programs. Many of the issues discussed touch directly upon the strongest concerns we feel as human beings struggling to define our roles and affirm our importance in the world around us. About the Author: Robert H. Frank is Associate Professor of Economics at Cornell University. He is the co-author (with Richard Freeman) of The Distributional Consequences of Direct Foreign Investment.

Download or read book The Upside of Down written by Thomas Homer-Dixon and published by Vintage Canada. This book was released on 2010-02-05 with total page 450 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: From the author of the #1 bestselling and Governor General’s Literary Award-winning The Ingenuity Gap – an essential addition to the bookshelf of every thinking person with a stake in our world and our civilization. This is a groundbreaking, essential book for our times. Thomas Homer-Dixon brings to bear his formidable understanding of the urgent problems that confront our world to clarify their scope and deep causes. The Upside of Down provides a vivid picture of the immense stresses that are simultaneously converging on our societies and threatening a breakdown that would profoundly shake civilization. It shows, too, how we can choose a better route into the future. With the immediacy that characterized his award-winning international bestseller, The Ingenuity Gap, Homer-Dixon takes us on a remarkable journey – from the fall of the Roman empire to the devastation of the 9/11 attacks in New York, from Toronto in the 2003 blackout to the ancient temples of Lebanon and the wildfires of California. Incorporating the newest findings from an astonishing array of disciplines, he argues that the great stresses our world is experiencing – global warming, energy scarcity, population imbalances, and widening gaps between rich and poor – can’t be looked at independently. As these stresses combine and converge, the risk of breakdown rises. The first signs are appearing in the wastelands of the Arctic, the mud-clogged streets of Gonaïves, Haiti, and the volatile regions of the Middle East and Asia. But while the consequences of denial in our more perilous world are dire, Homer-Dixon makes clear that we can use our emerging understanding of the complex systems in which we live to avoid catastrophic collapse in a way the Roman empire could not. This vitally important new book shows how, in the face of breakdown, we can still provide for the renewal of our global civilization. We are creating the conditions for catastrophe, but by understanding the underlying principles that make human and natural systems resilient – and by working together to put those principles into effect – we can still limit the severity of collapse and foster regeneration, innovation, and renewal.