Happiness Maximization by the Government

Bruno Frey

Chapter Chapter 6 in Economics of Happiness, 2018, pp 29-31 from Springer

Abstract: Abstract Fundamental arguments speak against politicians attempting to maximize the aggregate subjective well-being index of their country’s population. This approach to economic policy corresponds to the idea of a “benevolent dictator” who determines from above what is good for the people. Such an assumption is naïve. Once the maximization of the aggregate happiness index of the population is taken to be the official goal of economic and social policy, one can no longer trust that survey respondents answer any questions about their subjective life satisfaction in an unbiased way. When citizens’ happiness is taken as the measuring rod of politics, government politicians will make an effort to manipulate the aggregate happiness index in their favour. For both these reasons, the subjective well-being data are no longer a reliable measure of people’s happiness. Governments should not be asked to maximize happiness.

Keywords: Happiness maximization; Government; Benevolent dictator; Official policy goal; Biased survey answers; Happiness index manipulation; Unreliable measure (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2018
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DOI: 10.1007/978-3-319-75807-7_6

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