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Happiness and Economics: How the Economy and Institutions Affect Human Well-Being.

Curiously, economists, whose discipline has much to do with human well-being, have shied away from factoring the study of happiness into their work. Happiness, they might say, is an ”unscientific” concept. This is the first book to establish empirically the link between happiness and economics–and between happiness and democracy. Two respected economists, Bruno S. Frey and Alois Stutzer, integrate insights and findings from psychology, where attempts to measure quality of life are well-documented, as well as from sociology and political science. They demonstrate how micro- and macro-economic conditions in the form of income, unemployment, and inflation affect happiness. The research is centered on Switzerland, whose varying degrees of direct democracy from one canton to another, all within a single economy, allow for political effects to be isolated from economic effects.

Not surprisingly, the authors confirm that unemployment and inflation nurture unhappiness. Their most striking revelation, however, is that the more developed the democratic institutions and the degree of local autonomy, the more satisfied people are with their lives. While such factors as rising income increase personal happiness only minimally, institutions that facilitate more individual involvement in politics (such as referendums) have a substantial effect. For countries such as the United States, where disillusionment with politics seems to be on the rise, such findings are especially significant. By applying econometrics to a real-world issue of general concern and yielding surprising results, Happiness and Economics promises to spark healthy debate over a wide range of the social sciences.

Author: Bruno S. Frey, Alois Stutzer,

Binding: Paperback

EAN: 9780691069982

Condition: New

Manufacturer: Princeton University Press

Number of items: 1

Number of pages: 200

Product group: Book

Studio: Princeton University Press

Publication Date: 2001-12-01

Publisher: Princeton University Press

Pages: 200

ISBN: 0691069980

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Bruno S. Frey
Bruno S. Frey hat Nationalökonomie an den Universitäten von Basel und Cambridge (England) studiert, 1965 an der Universität Basel doktoriert und 1969 habilitiert. Von 2012-2014 war Frey Senior Professor für Politische Ökonomie an der Zeppelin Universität Friedrichshafen. Seit 2015 ist er Ständiger Gastprofessor an der Universität Basel.