New paper! Here's the one-minute version. There's a puzzle I've been thinking about for a long time. Wealthy countries tend to be happier… pic.twitter.com/LL2neJbiT4
2 thoughts on “Sharmaji ka beta, the global edition”
I am trying to understand what adjustments has the study made or can be made for social notions and perceptions within a society/surveyed country. For instance, Norway which features way high on the happiness scale also tends to reference it’s happiness to relative social markers like a second home (a cabin in the woods preferably) or frequent change of designer furniture in their homes, etc. These have a bearing on people’s self reporting of happiness, in my experience. And then, we aggregate this and report national happiness and compare it with other countries. It seems there is subjectivity layered upon subjectivity and then some more. It doesn’t seem to inform the starting premise of relationship between wealth and happiness. Perhaps, it does speak to social connectedness vs individuality (as a nuclear unit in an urban job and life) where the satisfaction with life outcomes vary and there is significant difference in making social comparisons.
The more I learn about happiness studies, the more I think we don’t understand what happiness is. That, unfortunately, doesn’t stop us from trying to measure it, model for it, and even predict it.
‘Subjectivity layered upon subjectivity’ is spot on.
That, to be clear, doesn’t mean that we shouldn’t work on studies such as this, but they do have a higher bar to clear, for sure
I am trying to understand what adjustments has the study made or can be made for social notions and perceptions within a society/surveyed country. For instance, Norway which features way high on the happiness scale also tends to reference it’s happiness to relative social markers like a second home (a cabin in the woods preferably) or frequent change of designer furniture in their homes, etc. These have a bearing on people’s self reporting of happiness, in my experience. And then, we aggregate this and report national happiness and compare it with other countries. It seems there is subjectivity layered upon subjectivity and then some more. It doesn’t seem to inform the starting premise of relationship between wealth and happiness. Perhaps, it does speak to social connectedness vs individuality (as a nuclear unit in an urban job and life) where the satisfaction with life outcomes vary and there is significant difference in making social comparisons.
The more I learn about happiness studies, the more I think we don’t understand what happiness is. That, unfortunately, doesn’t stop us from trying to measure it, model for it, and even predict it.
‘Subjectivity layered upon subjectivity’ is spot on.
That, to be clear, doesn’t mean that we shouldn’t work on studies such as this, but they do have a higher bar to clear, for sure