Happiness—Concept, Measurement and Promotion

188 Pages·2022·4.502 MB·English

by  Yew-Kwang Ng

Yew-Kwang Ng
Happiness—
Concept,
Measurement
and Promotion
Happiness—Concept, Measurement and Promotion
Yew-Kwang Ng
Happiness—Concept,
Measurement and Promotion
Yew-KwangNg
SchoolofEconomics
FudanUniversity
Shanghai,China
Economics
MonashUniversity
Melbourne,Australia
ISBN978-981-33-4971-1 ISBN978-981-33-4972-8 (eBook)
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-33-4972-8
©TheEditor(s)(ifapplicable)andTheAuthor(s)2022.Thisbookisanopenaccesspublication.
OpenAccessThisbookislicensedunderthetermsoftheCreativeCommonsAttribution4.0International
License(http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/),whichpermitsuse,sharing,adaptation,distribu-
tionandreproductioninanymediumorformat,aslongasyougiveappropriatecredittotheoriginal
author(s)andthesource,providealinktotheCreativeCommonslicenseandindicateifchangeswere
made.
Theimagesorotherthirdpartymaterialinthisbookareincludedinthebook’sCreativeCommonslicense,
unlessindicatedotherwiseinacreditlinetothematerial.Ifmaterialisnotincludedinthebook’sCreative
Commonslicenseandyourintendeduseisnotpermittedbystatutoryregulationorexceedsthepermitted
use,youwillneedtoobtainpermissiondirectlyfromthecopyrightholder.
Theuseofgeneraldescriptivenames,registerednames,trademarks,servicemarks,etc.inthispublication
doesnotimply,evenintheabsenceofaspecificstatement,thatsuchnamesareexemptfromtherelevant
protectivelawsandregulationsandthereforefreeforgeneraluse.
Thepublisher,theauthorsandtheeditorsaresafetoassumethattheadviceandinformationinthisbook
arebelievedtobetrueandaccurateatthedateofpublication.Neitherthepublishernortheauthorsor
theeditorsgiveawarranty,expressedorimplied,withrespecttothematerialcontainedhereinorforany
errorsoromissionsthatmayhavebeenmade.Thepublisherremainsneutralwithregardtojurisdictional
claimsinpublishedmapsandinstitutionalaffiliations.
ThisSpringerimprintispublishedbytheregisteredcompanySpringerNatureSingaporePteLtd.
The registered company address is: 152 Beach Road, #21-01/04 Gateway East, Singapore 189721,
Singapore
Preface
Whileinterestsinissuespertainingtohappinesshavebeenlong-standing,wehave
witnessedrecentlyanincreasingfocusbybothscholarsandmembersofthegeneral
public. ‘Subjective well-being (SWB) is an extremely active area of research with
about170,000articlesandbookspublishedonthetopicinthepast15years’(Diener
et al. 2018, Abstract). Not only psychologists (e.g. Kahneman et al. 1999, Diener
et al. 2010, 2018) and sociologists (e.g. Veenhoven 1984, 1993, 2010, 2017), but
alsoeconomistshavemadesubstantialinvestigations.1 Afterabout2–3decadesof
gestationsincethefirstpublicationonhappinessissuesbyaneconomist(Easterlin
1974), contributions from economists has mushroomed over the last two decades
or so.2 I published a paper (Ng 1978) four years after Easterlin and continue to
maintain interest until now. In this book, I hope to show how an individual and a
society/countrymayincreasehappiness.Despitethefactthathappinesshasagenetic
element(Lykken&Tellegen1996,Lyubomirsky&Layous2013,Minkov&Bond
2017),itcanbeincreased(Lyubomirsky2005,Carrilloetal.2020);3 onemayeven
learnorbetrainedtobehappier(e.g.Lovedayetal.2018,Rowland&Curry2018,
Ruchetal.2018,Liuetal.2020).Atleastformyself,myhappinesshasincreased
bymanytimessinceitslow(butstillpositive)duringmyearlythirties.Ihopethat
manyreadersmaylearnfromthisbooktoachievethesameorevenlargersuccesses.
My advice is not just based on my personal experience, but also on the research
findingsofmanyresearchersfromwhomIhavelearnedenormously.Ibelievethat
thisbookisusefulnotonlyforanindividualwishingtoincreasehappiness,orfor
agovernmentwillingtodogoodforthepeople,butalsoforahappinessresearcher
andaneconomistifshewantshereconomicstocontributetosocialwelfare.(Onthe
1Forabibliometricanalysisoftheeconomicsofhappiness,seeDominko&Verbicˇ(2019),which
shows,amongothers,abigsurgeaftertheglobalfinancialcrisisin2008.
2Including:Frey&Stutzer(2002),Blanchflower&Oswald(2004),Layard(2006),Clark(2010),
Helliwell(2010,2018),Oswald&Wu(2010),Benjaminetal.(2012,2014),Graham(2012),2017),
Blanchfloweretal.(2013),Clark&Senik(2014),Aghionetal(2016),Chengetal.(2017),Clark
etal.(2018),Glover&Helliwell(2019).
3However,seeBrown&Rohrer(2020)foracriticalcommentonLyubomirsky(2005).
v
vi Preface
otherhand,theconcernforthedangerofapaternalisticgovernmentshouldalsobe
keptinmind;see,e.g.Frey2018).
Preface vii
Highlightsofthebookinclude:
(cid:129)
Asimple,intuitivedefinitionofhappinesswithouttheconfusionoftheobjective
and/oreudaimoniccomplications.
(cid:129)
Clarificationsonsomemistakenviewsonhappiness,suchas:happinessisrelative,
differsbetweenindividuals,cannotbemeasuredinasingledimensionandcannot
becomparedinterpersonally.
(cid:129)
Asophisticatedmethodtomeasurehappiness(includingbysurveyquestionnaire)
thatismorereliableandinterpersonallycomparableisproposed.
(cid:129)
Thephilosophicalpositionthathappinessisultimatelyspeakingtheonlythingof
intrinsicvalueisstronglydefended.Thisdoesnotprecludeimportantinstrumental
valuesofhappiness,includingforhealth,successincareerandfamily,productivity
or work performance (DiMaria et al. 2020, Luna-Arocas & Danvila-del-Valle
2020)andeveninpro-environmentalbehaviour(e.g.Diener&Tay2017,Schmitt
etal.2017,Frey2018,Wang&Kang2018).
(cid:129)
Anenvironmentallyresponsiblehappynationindex(ERHNI):Anationalsuccess
indicatorotherthanGDP.
(cid:129)
An evolutionary ultimate explanation for the delay in sleep-wake cycles of
teenagers, explaining the decline in happiness starting at around 12 years old
andthetroughinhappinesslevelsatmiddleages,aswellasanobviouswayto
solvetheproblemsbydelayingthestarthoursofhighschools.
(cid:129)
TheEast-Asianhappinessgap.
(cid:129)
Twelvefactors:attitude,balance,confidence,dignity,engagement,family/friends,
gratitude,health,ideal,joy,kindness,love,crucialforindividualhappiness.
(cid:129)
Importantpublicpolicyconsiderationsarediscussed,takingintoaccountrecent
contributionsineconomics,environmentalsciencesandhappinessstudies.
(cid:129)
Argumentsverydifferentfrom,ifnotoppositetothetraditionaleconomistwisdom
like‘bigsociety,smallgovernment’,areadvanced.
(cid:129)
Acaseforbrainstimulationforpleasureismade.
(cid:129)
Acaseforreducinganimalsuffering.
Shanghai,China Yew-KwangNg
References
AGHION,Philippe,AKCIGIT,Ufuk,DEATON,Angus&ROULET,Alexandra.(2016).Creative
destructionandsubjectivewell-being.AmericanEconomicReview,106(12),3869–3897.
BLANCHFLOWER,DavidG.&OSWALD,AndrewJ.(2004).Well-beingovertimeinBritain
andtheUSA.JournalofPublicEconomics,88(7–8),1359–1386.
BLANCHFLOWER,D.G.,OSWALD,A.J.,&STEWART-BROWN,S.(2013).Ispsychological
well-beinglinkedtotheconsumptionoffruitandvegetables?SocialIndicatorsResearch,114(3),
785–801.
BENJAMIN,DanielJ.,HEFFETZ,Ori,KIMBALL,MilesS.&REES-JONES,Alex(2012).What
doyouthinkwouldmakeyouhappier?Whatdoyouthinkyouwouldchoose?AmericanEconomic
Review,102(5):2083–2110.
viii Preface
BENJAMIN,DanielJ.,HEFFETZ,Ori,KIMBALL,MilesS.&REES-JONES,Alex.(2014).Can
MarginalRatesofSubstitutionBeInferredfromHappinessData?EvidencefromResidency
Choices.AmericanEconomicReview,104(11),3498–3528.
BROWN,N.J.L.&ROHRER,J.M.(2020).Easyas(Happiness)Pie?Acriticalevaluationofa
popularmodelofthedeterminantsofwell-being.JournalofHappinessStudies21(4):1285–
1301.Availableat:https://doi.org/10.1007/s10902-019-00128-4.
CARRILLO,A.,ETCHEMENDY,E.&BAÑOS,R.M.(2020).MyBestSelfinthePast,Present
orFuture:ResultsofTwoRandomizedControlledTrials.JournalofHappinessStudies.https://
doi.org/10.1007/s10902-020-00259-z.
CHENG,TerenceC.,POWDTHAVEEE,Nattavudh,&OSWALD,AndrewJ.(2017).Longitudinal
evidenceforamidlifenadirinhumanwell-being:Resultsfromfourdatasets.EconomicJournal,
127(599),126–142.
CLARK,AndrewE.(2010).Work,jobs,andwell-beingacrossthemillennium.InE.Diener,J.
F.Helliwell,&D.Kahneman(Eds.),InternationalDifferencesinWell-being(pp.436–468).
OxfordUniversityPress.
CLARK, Andrew E., SENIK, Claudia, eds. (2014). Happiness and Economic Growth: Lessons
fromDevelopingCountries.OxfordUniversityPress.
CLARK,A.E.,FLÈCHE,S.,LAYARD,R.,POWDTHAVEE,N.,&WARD,G.(2018).TheOrigins
ofHappiness:TheScienceofWell-BeingovertheLifeCourse.PrincetonUniversityPress.
DIENER,E.,LUCAS,R.E.,&OISHI,S.(2018).Advancesandopenquestionsinthescience
ofsubjectivewell-being.Collabra:Psychology,4(1),15.DOI:https://doi.org/10.1525/collab
ra.115.
DIENEER,Ed.,KAHNEMAN,Daniel.,&HELLIWELL,John,F.(2010).InternationalDifferences
inWell-Being.Oxford:OxfordUniversityPress.
DIENER,Ed&TAY,Louis(2017).Ascientificreviewoftheremarkablebenefitsofhappinessfor
successfulandhealthyliving.InHappinessTransformingtheDevelopmentLandscape(pp.90–
117).TheCentreforBhutanStudiesandGNH.
DIMARIA,C.H.,PERONI,C.,&SARRACINO,F.(2020).HappinessMatters:ProductivityGains
from Subjective Well-Being. Journal of Happiness Studies, 21, 139–160. https://doi.org/10.
1007/s10902-019-00074-1.
DOMINKO,M.,&VERBICˇ,M.(2019).TheEconomicsofSubjectiveWell-Being:ABibliometric
Analysis.JournalofHappinessStudies,20(6),1973–1994.https://doi.org/10.1007/s10902-018-
0022-z.
FREY,BrunoS.&STUTZER,Alois.(2002).HappinessandEconomics:HowtheEconomyand
InstitutionsAffectWell-Being.PrincetonUniversityPress.
FREY, Bruno S. (2018). Psychological influences on happiness. In FREY, Bruno S., and Alois
STUTZER.EconomicsofHappiness.Springer,Cham.,pp.25–27.
GRAHAM, Carol (2012). The Pursuit of Happiness: An Economy of Well-Being. Brookings
InstitutionPress.
GRAHAM,Carol.(2017).Happinessandeconomics:Insightsforpolicyfromthenew“science”
ofwell-being.JournalofBehavioralEconomicsforPolicy,1(1),69–72.
HELLIWELL, John F. (2018). What’s special about happiness as a social indicator? Social
IndicatorsResearch,135.3(2018):965–968.
KAHNEMAN, Daniel, DIENER, Ed & SCHWARZ, Norbert (Eds.) (1999).Well-Being: The
FoundationsofHedonicPsychology.NewYork,NY,US:RussellSageFoundation.
LIU,Y.,LIU,J.C.,LIN,M.,etal.(2020).Participationofseniorcitizensinsomatosensorygames:A
correlationbetweenthewillingnesstoexerciseandhappiness.JAmbientIntellHumanComput.
https://doi.org/10.1007/s12652-020-01918-y.
LOVEDAY,P.M.,LOVELL,G.P.,&JONES,C.M.(2018).Thebestpossibleselvesintervention:
Areviewoftheliteraturetoevaluateefficacyandguidefutureresearch.JournalofHappiness
Studies,19,607–628.https://doi.org/10.1007/s10902-016-9824-z.
LUNA-AROCAS,R.,&DANVILA-DEL-VALLE,I.(2020).Doespositivewellbeingpredictjob
performancethreemonthslater?AppliedResearchQualityLife.https://doi.org/10.1007/s11482-
020-09835-0.
Preface ix
LYKKEN,David&TELLEGEN,Auke.(1996).Happinessisastochasticphenomenon.Psycho-
logicalScience,7(3),186–189.
LYUBOMIRSKY,S.,KING,L.,&DIENER,E.(2005).Thebenefitsoffrequentpositiveaffect:
Doeshappinessleadtosuccess?PsychologicalBulletin,131,803–855.
LYUBOMIRSKY,Sonja&LAYOUS,Kristin.(2013).Howdosimplepositiveactivitiesincrease
well-being?PsychologicalScience,22,57–62.
MINKOV,Michael&BOND,Michael(2017).AGeneticComponenttoNationalDifferencesin
Happiness.JournalofHappinessStudies,18(2):321–340.
OSWALD,AndrewJ.&WU,Stephen.(2010).Objectiveconfirmationofsubjectivemeasuresof
humanwell-being:EvidencefromtheUSA.Science,327(5965),576–579.
ROWLAND,Lee,CURRY,OliverScott(2018).Arangeofkindnessactivitiesboosthappiness.
JournalofSocialPsychology,just-accepted(2018).
RUCH,W.F.,HOFMANN,J.,RUSCH,S.,&STOLZ,H.(2018).Trainingthesenseofhumorwith
the7HumorHabitsProgramandsatisfactionwithlife.Humor,31(2),287–309.
SCHMITT,M.T.,AKNIN,L.B.,AXEN,J.,&SCHWOM,R.(2017).Unpackingtherelation-
ships between pro-environmental behavior, life satisfaction, and perceived ecological threat.
EcologicalEconomics,143,130–140.
VEENHOVEN,Ruut(1984).ConditionsofHappiness.Dordrecht:KluwerAcademic.
VEENHOVEN, Ruut. (2017). Greater happiness for a greater number: Did the promise of
enlightenmentcometrue?SocialIndicatorsResearch,130(1),9–25.
WANG, Erda and KANG, Nannan. (2018). Does life satisfaction matter for pro-environmental
behavior?EmpiricalevidencefromChinaGeneralSocialSurvey.Quality&Quantity,1–21.
Contents
1 WhatisHappiness?WhyisHappinessImportant? ............... 1
1.1 WhatisHappiness? ....................................... 1
1.2 WhyisHappinessImportant? .............................. 9
References .................................................... 11
2 HappinessVersusPreference ................................... 15
References .................................................... 23
3 SomeConceptualMistakesAboutHappiness .................... 25
3.1 WhyDoWeHaveHappiness? ............................. 25
3.2 CommonMistakesAboutHappiness ........................ 27
References .................................................... 30
4 HappinessorLifeSatisfaction? ................................. 33
References .................................................... 38
5 HappinessastheOnlyIntrinsicValue ........................... 41
5.1 HappinessastheOnlyIntrinsicValue ....................... 41
5.2 AnsweringSomeObjections ............................... 47
5.3 RejectingKant’sCategoricalImperatives .................... 51
5.4 ACritiqueofRawls ...................................... 54
References .................................................... 56
6 HappinessMeasurabilityandInterpersonalComparability ....... 59
6.1 HappinessisCardinallyMeasurableandInterpersonally
Comparable ............................................. 59
6.2 HowCouldtheMeasurementofHappinessbeImproved? ...... 63
References .................................................... 67
7 DoesMoneyBuyHappiness? ................................... 71
References .................................................... 75
xi