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A concise, critical analysis of the burgeoning field of happiness economics and its implications for public policy. Johns and Ormerod scrutinise the empirical foundations of happiness research that have led some policymakers to advocate well‑being as a policy objective, showing that commonly used measures of happiness correlate poorly with income, public spending, crime, inequality, and other social indicators. They argue that methodological difficulties in measuring happiness undermine its utility as a tool for policymaking and caution against using subjective well‑being indices to justify government intervention. The book includes commentaries by Samuel Brittan and Melanie Powell, which provide additional perspectives on rationality, welfare economics, and the policy relevance of happiness research.

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245: $a: Happiness, Economics and Public Policy
245: $b:
082: $a:
100: $a: Helen Johns & Paul Ormerod
650: $a: Economic Policy
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250: $b: Institute of Economic Affairs
250: $c: 2007
020: $a: 9780255366007
300: $a: 109