Mea Culpa: Corrections To The Last Post

Apologies for a pair of egregious errors that appeared in the previous blog entry: "Don't Worry, Be Happy." First, the author of the article is NOT an MP, but a member of the House of Lords. The author is Lord Richard Layard. Second, the prologue babbled about the U.S. being the sole country in the world to promise its people that they had right to happiness. Wrong! All of us in the United States have the right to pursue happiness; happiness is not an entitlement. Of course, those of the same sex who pursue matrimonial bliss are denied the right to pursue that particular version of happiness. Lord Layard, though, has fixed his sights on the loftier meanings of happiness. The fact that this blog and the Brookings Institution are impressed with Lord Layard's expostion on the importance of happiness illustrates the cutting-edge quality of these rants and raves. If this is (fair & balanced) self-promotion, so be it.

[x The Brookings Institution]
Brookings Briefing — Happiness: Lessons from a New Science
Wednesday, February 09, 2005
4:00pm - 5:30pm
Moderator: Carol Graham — Senior Fellow and Co-Director, Center on Social and Economic Dynamics, Brookings; Co-author, Happiness and Hardship: Opportunity and Insecurity in New Market Economies (2001)

Discussion between: Richard Layard — Director, Centre on Economic Performance, London School of Economics; Member, House of Lords
and
Stanley Fischer — Vice Chairman, Citigroup


Carol Graham: Good afternoon. Welcome, everyone. It's a real pleasure to have Richard Layard and Stan Fischer here to discuss Richard's new book, Happiness: Lessons from a New Science, and also the subject of happiness research and its applications to policy more generally. It's also in a way a surprise to have so many people in a room for an event on happiness in a policy town like Washington. In fact, this would have been unimaginable a few years ago.

In his book, Richard Layard provides a really bold challenge for any number of policies—fiscal policy, labor market policies, other policies—and he's based this on findings from a host of happiness studies. I think his work is extremely provocative, and perhaps it's a sign of things to come.

A new social science field—the study of happiness—could ultimately transform how governments make decisions. Policymakers may one day use a system of national well-being indicators to track a country's happiness in the same way we now monitor economic conditions.

The study of happiness lies at the junction between economics and psychology. In large surveys, random samples of people are quizzed about their mental health and how happy they feel with their lives and other indicators, including their income, job, and marital status. Their answers allow researchers to study the links between happiness and life events. Psychologists find that happy people are prone to more successful lives—in social relationships, work, and health.

Lord Richard Layard, one of Britain's most prominent economists and a world expert on unemployment and inequality, has published a new book which describes this important new field. In Happiness: Lessons from a New Science (The Penguin Press, 2005), Layard argues that money can't, in fact, buy happiness. Layard redefines what happiness is, how to get more of it, and provides bold recommendations for policymakers.

At this event, Layard will discuss these issues with Stanley Fischer, followed by questions from the audience. Reception to follow.

Copyright © 2005 The Brookings Institution