Advances in Happiness Research A Comparative Perspective [Paperback]

This edited volume makes a contribution to the literature on happiness research by compiling studies based on cross-national research and from diverse academic disciplines. The book is distinctive in that it contains both theoretical and empirical analyses, investigating relationship between causes of happiness and economic behavior relating to employment, consumption, and saving. Most notably, it is one of the first studies in this subject area that analyzes micro data collected in Europe, US and Japan with information on respondents attributes and their economic behavior, as well as in measuring inter-temporal happiness by principal factor analysis. Research findings in this volume shed new light on public policies for a number of areas such as employment, family, social welfare, urban and regional planning, and culture. The book draws on a collaborative research project between five institutions of higher education in France, UK, Germany, Switzerland, Belgium, and Japan that lasted for two years.

1 Introduction.- Part I:? Issues in Happiness ResearchConcepts, Measurement and Interpretation.- ?2 Happiness: Research and Policy Considerations (Bruno Frey and Jana Gallus).- 3 The Wicked Problem of Wellbeing: Theorising the Prospects for Policy Change (Ian Bache and Louise Reardon).- 4 An Overview of Intertemporal Measures of Individual Well-being: Can They Explain Life Satisfaction Better????? (Conchita D'Ambrosio).- 5 The Importance of Domain Importance for Happiness Economics (Tim Tiefenbach and Florian Kohlbacher).- 6 Adaptation and the Easterlin Paradox (Andrew Clark).- Part II:? Income Inequality, Employment, and Happiness.- 7 Comparative Study of Happiness and Inequality in Five Industrialized Countries (Toshiaki Tachibanaki and Sayaka Sakoda).- 8 Happiness, Social Cohesion and Income Inequalities in Britain and Japan (Dimitris Ballas, Danny Dorling, Tomoki Nakaya, Helena Tunstall, Kazumasa Hanaoka and Tomoya Hanibuchi).- 9?????lCé