This book provides a comprehensive treatment of how happiness and wellbeing are measured. It presents an accessible summary of the philosophy, methodology, and applicability of the various measurement techniques that have been generated by the leaders of the happiness movement. It traces the history of development of the core ideas, and clarifies the unexpectedly wide range of techniques that are used. The book provides an unbiased assessment of the strengths and weaknesses of each approach and differentiates the contributions that have been made by psychologists, economists, environmentalists, and health scientists. It examines applications at a personal scale, in the workplace, at a societal scale, and on the world stage. It does so in an easy-to-read anecdotal writing style that will appeal to a wide range of academic and lay readers who enjoy popularized non-fiction that address matters of social concern.
Author(s): R. Allan Freeze
Series: Social Indicators Research Series, 86
Publisher: Springer
Year: 2022
Language: English
Pages: 333
City: Cham
Acknowledgements
Contents
List of Tables
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Part I: The Multi-faceted World of Happiness and Wellbeing
Chapter 1: An Introduction to the Concepts and Ideas
Measuring the Unmeasurable
What About the Dow-Jones and the GDP?
The Four Fountainheads
The Human Desire for Quantification
Happiness and Wellbeing Defined and Differentiated
Hedonic and Eudaimonic Happiness
A Little History
The Kingdom of Bhutan
The Hierarchy of Scales of Study
Human Wellbeing and Ecosystem Wellbeing
Subjective and Objective Measures
Indicators and Indexes
Self-Help, Inc.
Put on a Happy Face
Outline of the Book
References
Chapter 2: The Positive Psychology Movement
Half-Baked Psychology
The DSM
Humanistic Psychology
Subjective Wellbeing
Strengths and Virtues
Mindfulness
Hygge and Ikagai
Convergence
References
Chapter 3: The Social Indicators Movement
The Dow-Jones and the GDP
Gini Coefficients and One-Percenters
A Little History
Commodities and Capabilities
A Revolution in Economics
Key National Indicators
The Sarkozy Commission
Social Capital
The Dissenters
Economics As If People Mattered
References
Chapter 4: The Sustainability Movement
The Environmental Externalities
Sustainable Development
Ecological Economics and Environmental Economics
The Three Pillars
The Bellagio Principles
Sustainable Development Goals
IPAT and the Ecological Footprint
Time Horizon, Discount Rates, and Future Generations
The Skeptics
References
Chapter 5: Happiness Studies in the Biological and Medical Sciences
Emotions, Moods and Temperament
Medical Research and Happiness
Raging Hormones
Neurotransmitters: The Great Facilitators of Life
Uppers, Downers and All-Arounders
Hedonic Hot Spots in the Brain
The Genetics of Happiness and Set-Point Theory
Twins
Genes and Alleles
Health and Happiness
Health-Related Quality of Life
References
Part II: Eudaimetrics
Chapter 6: The Assessment of Personal Happiness and Life Satisfaction
Polls, Surveys and Questionnaires
The World Database of Happiness
We Feel Fine
Core Questions, Likert Scales, and the Cantril Ladder of Life
Multiple-Question Scales and Questionnaires
Measures of Affect
Daily Record Methods
The OECD Guidelines
Issues and Problems with Polls and Questionnaires
So How Happy Are We?
Correlations and Connections
Does Money Buy Happiness?
Is Happiness Relative?
Interventions and Prescriptions for Personal Happiness
References
Chapter 7: The Dimensions of Communal Wellbeing
How Many Dimensions?
An Eight-Dimensional Template
The Question of Perspective
Composite Indexes
A Ten-Step Scenario for Developing a Composite Index
The Question of Aggregation
The Question of Weighting
References
Chapter 8: The Building Blocks of Communal Wellbeing
Single-Dimensional Indexes
Economic Indexes
Detailed Example: Index of Economic Well-Being
Indexes of Governance
Security and Safety Indexes
Social Indexes
Detailed Example: Index of Social Health
Educational Indexes
Health Indexes
Environmental Indexes
Indexes of Infrastructure and Technology
Weaknesses and Annoyances
A Summary of Results for the USA and Canada
References
Chapter 9: The Wellbeing of Nations
Multi-dimensional Composite Indexes of Nationwide Communal Wellbeing
The Forerunners
The Human Development Index
World Happiness Report
The Quality of Life Index
Happy Life Years
The Happy Planet Index
The Genuine Progress Indicator
The Canadian Index of Wellbeing
The Weighted Index of Social Progress
Gross National Happiness Index: American Version
Gross National Happiness Index: Bhutanese Version
The Better Life Index
The Prosperity Index
US News and World Report Best Country Rankings
The Wellbeing Index
The Good Country Index
Summary of Country Rankings
The Questions of Normalization, Aggregation, and Weighting: Reprise
The Question of Information Content Relative to the Per-Capita GDP
The Question of Diversity
The Question of Cultural Bias
Comparative Analyses
A Summary of Critical Issues
References
Chapter 10: The Livability of Cities
Livable Cities
A Little History
Dimensions and Indicator Variables for the Livability of Cities
Where Do the Data Come From?
Some Single-Dimensional City-Scale Indexes
A Selection of Multi-dimensional Composite Indexes on the Livability of Cities
Summary of City Rankings
City Ranking Skeptics
The Community Indicator Movement
A Roster of City-Based Community Indicator Projects
Regional and Statewide Indicator Projects
The Smart Cities Movement
Happy Cities
The Civil Society Movement
The Ends of the Earth
References
Chapter 11: Satisfaction in the Workplace
Work and Wellbeing
Workplace Satisfaction from the Employee Perspective
Satisfaction and Engagement
The Measurement of Employee Job Satisfaction and Engagement
Consultant Services in Job Satisfaction
Best and Worst Places to Work
Some Statistics on Workplace Satisfaction and Engagement
Stress in the Workplace
Employee Harassment
Work-Life Balance
The Gig Economy
The Employer Perspective: Job Satisfaction and the Bottom Line
Workplace Wellbeing Programs
Values-Driven Business
The Educational Milieu
The Military
References
Part III: Nexus
Chapter 12: Policy, Politics and Happiness
The Social Indicators Creed
Reservations
Can Government Policy Increase Happiness?
Is Happiness Policy Ideologically Neutral?
What Are the Appropriate Goals of Government Policy with Respect to Happiness and Wellbeing?
Cost-Benefit Analysis
The Role of Social Indicators in the Policy Cycle
The Political Power of Happiness
Examples of Policy Issues That Can Benefit from Happiness Studies
The Effectiveness of Multi-dimensional Indexes of Wellbeing in the Policy Domain
Where, What, How, and Why Not?
Welfare Spending and Happiness
The Future
References
Appendix: Data Sources (Table A.1)
