Americans Value Happiness, But Block Required Policies

Jan Ott ()

Journal of Happiness Studies, 2013, vol. 14, issue 1, 353-361

Abstract: In his book “The Politics of Happiness” Derek Bok argues that happiness should be a goal in public policy. He presents an inventory of social problems in the US with negative effects on happiness, like inadequate education, chronic pain, sleep disorders, depressions, divorce, single-parent families, and financial hardship. He presents interesting options to deal with these problems. He also pays attention to some more general happiness-issues for US-policymakers, like the question of economic growth without happiness and the reputation of the US-government. Bok’s findings are consistent with available data about the high levels of negative feelings in the US: stress, depressions, sadness, anger and worry. His message is quite clear: policy-makers can use the findings of happiness-research to improve their decisions. Copyright The Author(s) 2013

Keywords: Economic growth; Education; Financial hardship; Government quality; Happiness; Inequality trap; Life-satisfaction; Marketing trap; Trust in government (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2013
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DOI: 10.1007/s10902-012-9328-4

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