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The Happiness Equation
Why is marriage worth £200,000 a year?
Why will having children make you unhappy?
Why does happiness from winning the lottery take two years to arrive?
Why does time heal the pain of divorce or the death of a loved one – but not unemployment?
Everybody wants to be happy. But how much happiness – precisely – will each life choice bring? Should I get married? Am I really going to feel happy about the career that I picked? How can we decide not only which choice is better for us, but how much it’s better for us?
The result of new, unique research, The Happiness Equation brings to a general readership for the first time the new science of happiness economics.
It describes how we can measure emotional reactions to different life experiences and present them in ways we can relate to. How, for instance, monetary values can be put on things that can’t be bought or sold in the market – such as marriage, friendship, even death – so that we can objectively rank them in order of preference. It also explains why some things matter more to our happiness than others (like why seeing friends is worth more than a Ferrari) while others are worth almost nothing (like sunny weather).
Nick Powdthavee – whose work on happiness has been discussed on both the Undercover Economist and Freakanomics blogs – brings cutting-edge research on how we value our happiness to a general audience, with a style that wears its learning lightly and is a joy to read.
Why will having children make you unhappy?
Why does happiness from winning the lottery take two years to arrive?
Why does time heal the pain of divorce or the death of a loved one – but not unemployment?
Everybody wants to be happy. But how much happiness – precisely – will each life choice bring? Should I get married? Am I really going to feel happy about the career that I picked? How can we decide not only which choice is better for us, but how much it’s better for us?
The result of new, unique research, The Happiness Equation brings to a general readership for the first time the new science of happiness economics.
It describes how we can measure emotional reactions to different life experiences and present them in ways we can relate to. How, for instance, monetary values can be put on things that can’t be bought or sold in the market – such as marriage, friendship, even death – so that we can objectively rank them in order of preference. It also explains why some things matter more to our happiness than others (like why seeing friends is worth more than a Ferrari) while others are worth almost nothing (like sunny weather).
Nick Powdthavee – whose work on happiness has been discussed on both the Undercover Economist and Freakanomics blogs – brings cutting-edge research on how we value our happiness to a general audience, with a style that wears its learning lightly and is a joy to read.
256 pages, Paperback
First published August 1, 2010
17 people are currently reading
327 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews
April 8, 2017
What a pleasant read, reminding you of what you probably already knew but is worth reminding you of once in a while: 'craving leads to suffering and, when our sufficient needs are met, happiness is nothing than a state of mind, and one that we can train, given effort and time.' It's a well written book about the new science of happiness economics and despite the academic data, it is an easy and enjoyable read!
May 19, 2019
I find this book very interesting. I read some reviews and found that some readers didn't like mathematics presented in this book. Perhaps I am also academics and I personally like mathematics and formula. That is why I particularly like this book. Unlike the other books about happiness, this one shows you a lot of research and supporting evidence. Some of them are quite surprising.
I would recommend you to read it, if you really hate mathematics, you can just skip that part. Just go to the conclusion, it's still very interesting!
I would recommend you to read it, if you really hate mathematics, you can just skip that part. Just go to the conclusion, it's still very interesting!
December 23, 2018
Unfortunately this book did not make me happy. I thought I'd read about social relations and emotions. Instead, the book was full of mathematical equations and explanations of research--based on math. I was going to give this book two stars but added a third because the author did a lot of work in analyzing the current research on happiness.
July 5, 2017
I won a copy of this book during a Goodreads giveaway. I am under no obligation to leave a review or rating and do so voluntarily. I am paying it forward by passing this book along to a business organization that offers business skills, hope, and dreams to be used in their ministry.
February 12, 2011
In the The Happiness Equation by Nick Powdthavee we learn some interesting things. For example that the well educated are slimmer and enjoy sex more than their counterparts, that misery really does love company (unemployment is not as painful if your partner and friends are also unemployed), that children don't really bring happiness, that it does not take us as long as we thought to get over a divorce or loss of a loved one, that a divorce is more painful than a bereavement.
The approach taken is to measure the happiness of people before and after everyday and momentous events - winning a lottery does make you happier, but not immediately and not long term. Through this approach we learn that a promotion that requires a longer commute and time away from family and friends is not worth having. That people who are naturally happier are also healthier, live longer and more successful. That the status anxiety spoken of by Alain de Botton can be measured - you can only be happy if you are slightly better off than your comparison group.
What of the national level? If we were to make everyone happier then national productivity would rise, but raising everyone's happiness status does not have a long term effect due to the comparative status effect. The example of Bhutan in setting national happiness targets rather than GDP targets is an interesting example of libertarian paternalism, others are 'opt-out' schemes whereby the good options for the individual and society (such as retirement savings schemes or organ donation) are made and the individual can opt out of these, thus preserving their right to choose but creating a positive norm.
The book finishes by recognising that many of the findings are obvious and indeed were identified by Buddha 2,500 years ago - that craving leads to unhappiness and we can master our cravings.
An interesting read but somewhat hampered by mathematical formulae, tables and graphs. A book that covered more of this fertile ground in less depth may have been of greater popular appeal.
The approach taken is to measure the happiness of people before and after everyday and momentous events - winning a lottery does make you happier, but not immediately and not long term. Through this approach we learn that a promotion that requires a longer commute and time away from family and friends is not worth having. That people who are naturally happier are also healthier, live longer and more successful. That the status anxiety spoken of by Alain de Botton can be measured - you can only be happy if you are slightly better off than your comparison group.
What of the national level? If we were to make everyone happier then national productivity would rise, but raising everyone's happiness status does not have a long term effect due to the comparative status effect. The example of Bhutan in setting national happiness targets rather than GDP targets is an interesting example of libertarian paternalism, others are 'opt-out' schemes whereby the good options for the individual and society (such as retirement savings schemes or organ donation) are made and the individual can opt out of these, thus preserving their right to choose but creating a positive norm.
The book finishes by recognising that many of the findings are obvious and indeed were identified by Buddha 2,500 years ago - that craving leads to unhappiness and we can master our cravings.
An interesting read but somewhat hampered by mathematical formulae, tables and graphs. A book that covered more of this fertile ground in less depth may have been of greater popular appeal.
August 27, 2012
An interesting read which describes quantiative research into what actually makes people happy. The results are surprising in some ways and completely unsurprising in others.
For example, it's not absolute wealth that makes people happy, but it's relative wealth, i.e. where you lie status-wise within your peer group. And that making everyone wealthier hasn't or won't make everyone happier because jockying for position will still continue, making some people feel bad and others good.
Another eye-opener was that some things make you feel miserable for a long, long time, and that financial reward won't actually make you feel happier. For example, a long, unpleasant commute takes an awful lot of money to compensate for, and taking a job with a payrise which involves a long commute is likely to leave people feeling far more unhappy than staying in a lower paid job with a shorter, easier commute.
All in all, I think this was worth reading.
For example, it's not absolute wealth that makes people happy, but it's relative wealth, i.e. where you lie status-wise within your peer group. And that making everyone wealthier hasn't or won't make everyone happier because jockying for position will still continue, making some people feel bad and others good.
Another eye-opener was that some things make you feel miserable for a long, long time, and that financial reward won't actually make you feel happier. For example, a long, unpleasant commute takes an awful lot of money to compensate for, and taking a job with a payrise which involves a long commute is likely to leave people feeling far more unhappy than staying in a lower paid job with a shorter, easier commute.
All in all, I think this was worth reading.
June 6, 2016
A loose collection of insights about happiness cribbed from various other self-help books in the same vein with a bit of personal insight and counter-intuitive data thrown in for good measure. You kind of get the impression that the author is trying too hard at times and it's kind of funny that a guy with a Harvard MBA is trying to convince readers (in a few places) that Harvard MBAs aren't that special or that success isn't greatly accelerated by the possession of such things. For example there was a chapter where the author talked about his journey towards "owning" the fact that he had graduated from Harvard. Talk about a first world problem!
On the whole there were a few surprising insights however, and I think it was worth the read just to absorb them all in a single sitting.
On the whole there were a few surprising insights however, and I think it was worth the read just to absorb them all in a single sitting.
May 20, 2012
This book starts in a boring fashion. Particularly, if you are not into economics, you might not find the first few chapters interesting at all. The idea that the author is trying to put a price tag on human emotions feels a little bit weird initially.
But as you go along, you get immersed in the author's quest for understanding Happiness as a pure psychological phenomenon. And the last few chapters are the best.
Overall a decent book, worth one reading. It refers to lot of other good books and literature on happiness research.
But as you go along, you get immersed in the author's quest for understanding Happiness as a pure psychological phenomenon. And the last few chapters are the best.
Overall a decent book, worth one reading. It refers to lot of other good books and literature on happiness research.
July 7, 2016
Excellent little book. Generally well written and clear in its presentation of ideas. Got a little stodgy at the start with too many stats and the maths behind them. Possibly he felt he needed to do that to justify his science, but there was probably too much of it for a book aimed at the general public. Once he just starts to let the ideas roll though, the book takes off.
January 12, 2012
Quite interesting, although felt a little futile because the conclusions were pretty thin. The book is mainly an intellectual curiosity, and lacks substantial practical ramifications. His conclusion is basically that we should become Buddhist. Ick.
February 7, 2016
Some interesting perspectives....
July 2, 2016
This was a good read. As a self-help book junkie there were a few new tips, however for the most part it was a good reminder that happiness is within us and attitude is all important.
October 16, 2016
Quite a lot of statistics in the book.
January 10, 2017
Pretty good. A sytnhesis of the work of many other books.
April 13, 2017
A very concise and helpful book that I thoroughly enjoyed!
Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews