Over the past 40 years, GDP per head has risen sharply in western countries; but the average level of happiness reported by individuals has shown little or no increase. This apparent failure of economic growth to make people feel happier is one of the central claims in contemporary political debate.
From this premise, prominent happiness advocates, such as Richard Layard in his book Happiness: Lessons from a New Science, argue for big policy changes. One is that taxation should be made more progressive to reduce income inequality because, it is claimed, it is relative rather than absolute levels of income that affect happiness. Further, it is proposed that the nation’s happiness should be measured regularly, just as GDP is, and used to guide policymaking.
We take issue with the validity of much of the happiness research on which such recommendations are based. We do not argue that the wider objectives espoused by happiness advocates (who are mainly on the centre left of politics), such as reducing inequality, are in themselves invalid—rather that happiness research offers no basis for such propositions.
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