<The Future is SolarThe Oil DrumDrumBeat: July 28, 2007>

94 comments on Happiness, economic growth, and oil prices

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cuchulainn on July 27, 2007 - 11:17am Permalink | Subthread | Parent | Comments top

Leanan,
"The happiest people in the world are Nigerians". What's your source on that? This source

http://www.le.ac.uk/pc/aw57/world/sample.html

shows global happiness levels being ROUGHLY in accordance with GDP (ie monotonic wrt GDP on a country-by-country basis). As far as I know the 'positive psychology' interpretation of this goes 'Below $15,000 money buys happiness, above $15,000 people get confused and start judging themselves relative to their neighbours, hence no measurable increase in (mean) happiness once (mean) income gets near (+/-) $15,000.

This fits with what you say about Mexicans - Mexicans in Mexico = happy, because they earn about $10,000 (GDP/capita basis). Mexicans who move to the US = happier because they earn more (clearly, otherwise they wouldn't move). Mexicans who stay in the US longterm = unhappy since they start judging themselves relative to the US average of $44,000.

I highly recommend the books 'Authentic Happiness' by Martin Seligman, 'The Happiness Hypothesis' by Jonathan Haidt and 'Stumbling on Happiness' by Daniel Gilbert. If you're interested in this stuff then you'll really enjoy each of them.

Cuchulainn

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Leanan on July 27, 2007 - 1:54pm Permalink | Subthread | Parent | Comments top

Nigeria tops happiness survey

A new study of more than 65 countries published in the UK's New Scientist magazine suggests that the happiest people in the world live in Nigeria - and the least happy, in Romania.

People in Latin America, Western Europe and North America are happier than their counterparts in Eastern Europe and Russia.

Nigeria has the highest percentage of happy people followed by Mexico, Venezuela, El Salvador and Puerto Rico, while Russia, Armenia and Romania have the fewest.

But factors that make people happy may vary from one country to the next with personal success and self-expression being seen as the most important in the US, while in Japan, fulfilling the expectations of family and society is valued more highly.

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Dryki on July 27, 2007 - 9:11pm Permalink | Subthread | Parent | Comments top

I'm a little suspicious that the master might be telling us how happy the house slaves are. Maybe, maybe not. I'd rather a Nigerian source.

cfm in Gray, ME

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Seadragon on July 27, 2007 - 5:31pm Permalink | Subthread | Parent | Comments top

I'd also recommend Luxury Fever: Money and Happiness in an Era of Excess, Robert Frank. Excellent in depth discussion of these issues.
http://www.amazon.com/Luxury-Fever-Robert-H-Frank/dp/0691070113/ref=pd_b...

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