Working Paper: NBER ID: w26529
Authors: John F. Helliwell
Abstract: This paper summarizes the philosophical and empirical grounds for giving a primary role to the evaluations that people make of the quality of their lives. These evaluations permit comparisons among communities, regions, nations and population subgroups, enable the estimation of the relative importance of various sources of happiness, and provide a well-being lens to aid the choice of public policies to support well-being. Available results expose the primacy of social determinants of happiness, and especially the power of generosity and other positive social connections to improve the levels, distribution and sustainability of well-being.
Keywords: happiness; wellbeing; public policy
JEL Codes: D6; I31; Z18
Edges that are evidenced by causal inference methods are in orange, and the rest are in light blue.
| Cause | Effect |
|---|---|
| social connections (Z13) | life evaluations (H43) |
| generosity (D64) | subjective wellbeing (I31) |
| generosity (D64) | community environment (R23) |
| social variables (Z13) | life evaluations (H43) |