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Happiness: Lessons from a New Science (Paperback)

by Richard Layard (Author) "There is a paradox at the heart of our lives ..." (more)

4.2 out of 5 stars See all reviews (21 customer reviews)

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Product details

Paperback: 320 pages
Publisher: Penguin (6 April 2006)
Language English
ISBN-10: 0141016906
ISBN-13: 978-0141016900
Product Dimensions: 19.8 x 12.2 x 2.2 cm

Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars See all reviews (21 customer reviews)

Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 2,607 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)
Popular in this category:
#3 in Books > Business, Finance & Law > Economics > Theory & Philosophy

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Product Description

In this landmark book, Richard Layard shows that there is a paradox at the heart of our lives. Most people want more income. Yet as societies become richer, they do not become happier. This is not just anecdotally true, it is the story told by countless pieces of scientific research. We now have sophisticated ways of measuring how happy people are, and all the evidence shows that on average people have grown no happier in the last fifty years, even as average incomes have more than doubled. In fact, the First World has more depression, more alcoholism and more crime than fifty years ago. This paradox is true of Britain, the United States, continental Europe, and Japan. What is going on?

About the Author

Richard Layard is a leading economist who believes that the happiness of society does not necessarily equate to its income. He is best known for his work on unemployment and inequality, whihc provided the intellectual basis for Britain's improved unemployment policies. He founded the Centre for Economic Performance at the London School of Economics, and since 2000 he has been a member of the House of Lords. His research into the subject of happiness brings together findings from such diverse areas as psychology, neuroscience, economics, sociology and philosophy.

Inside This Book (Learn More)

First Sentence
There is a paradox at the heart of our lives. Read the first page

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	88% buy the item featured on this page: Happiness: Lessons from a New Science 4.2 out of 5 stars (21) �5.98
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	3% buy A Good Childhood: Searching for Values in a Competitive Age 4.4 out of 5 stars (17) �5.97

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Customer Reviews

21 Reviews

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

Average Customer Review

4.2 out of 5 stars (21 customer reviews)

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24 of 26 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A very readable introduction to an important new science, 30 Sep 2006

By	Menno Middeldorp (Utrecht, The Netherlands) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This book makes a compelling and accessible case that the new science of happiness is very relevant to how we shape our society. Layard is an economist by education and argues that his own profession has been complacent in almost unthinkingly using consumption as a practical approximation of happiness. The policy recommendations that result have made us richer, but often not happier. Layard says that it is now possible to measure happiness and thus there is no excuse not to tailor policies to achieve the goal of making society happier. In a very readable fashion he connects recent research on what makes people happy (things like stable families, socially integrated neighbourhoods and low unemployment) to some possible policies. Although one may not agree with some of his recommendations the book is refreshing in its approach. As a result I feel that all my fellow economists should read this to get a new perspective on our profession. Politicians and voters should also read it for new insights on how we should shape our society.

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15 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Everything you ever wanted to know about Happiness, 7 May 2006

By	Martin Akiyama (Slough) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Happiness: Lessons from a New Science (Hardcover)

I think this was the book that started the current trendiness of Happiness. Despite being fairly short it covers everything you could possibly want to know, and has a bibliography and internet links for anyone wanting to know more about any particular topic.

It is an important book because in some ways the modern world is making people more and more unhappy. But it doesn't have to be that way. The author offers suggestions, backed by solid evidence, for political and economic reforms and also for personally achieving greater happiness.

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47 of 53 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Important topic, important book, 7 Mar 2005

By A Customer

This review is from: Happiness: Lessons from a New Science (Hardcover)

Richard Layard is very convincing in his argument that more money does not necessarily make you happier. This is an important and very hot topic (just last month McConnell's 'Make Money, Be Happy' argued a similar case but on a more personal 'what do I do about it' level).

Layard is an economist, but he brings in helpings of philosophy, psychology and neuroscience along the way. It's a very thought provoking book.

If McConnell, Layard and others are right, as the evidence suggests they are, then the question is what this means for capitalism as we know it? If more money doesn't make us happier than capitalism starts to look a bit rocky.

Layard's Happiness is the No Logo style agenda book laying out all the evidence and exploring what does and doesn't make us happy. McConnell's Make Money Be Happy is perfect if you are trying to work out how on earth you find the right balance between money and happiness in your life. Actually they complement each other perfectly.

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Most Recent Customer Reviews

3.0 out of 5 stars Light on gritty philosophical reasoning, but interesting
Layard expounds his view that the most important aim for society should be maximising the Utilitarian notion of happiness rather than increasing GDP/GNP. Read more

Published 1 month ago by Mr. F. Chillcott

5.0 out of 5 stars Richard Layard adds to the to sum of human happiness
Yes, and three cheers for him. He could have written a dry academic tome that would have bored the pants off most of us, thereby adding to the sum of human misery, but no, he... Read more

Published 1 month ago by John Williams

4.0 out of 5 stars Authoritative yet readable
A detailed look at those factors which affect happiness, combining aspects of various social sciences in its search for constructive suggestions. Read more

Published 10 months ago by G. L. Haggett

2.0 out of 5 stars Sorry but this is no Happiness Hypothesis.
Whereas much of the science based parts of this book are worthwhile, I disagree very much with the political posturing of this book, when it rears its head. Read more

Published 11 months ago by Mr. T. White

3.0 out of 5 stars Simplistic
I was looking forward to this but generally found it rather simplistic didactic and whilst it would make a good GCSE level introduction isnt really meaty enough for the... Read more

Published 14 months ago by gethin

5.0 out of 5 stars A rare beacon of sanity
Conventional economics teaches (roughly) that an individual's greater consumption of goods and services means greater personal utility and hence (implicitly) greater happiness... Read more

Published 18 months ago by Gareth Greenwood

5.0 out of 5 stars a solution to happiness stagnation in properous countries?
Like all comments in all other reviews the book is an easy read about a complex subject. The subject: why is happiness stagnating since 1950 and what can be done about it... Read more

Published 23 months ago by L. van den Muyzenberg

5.0 out of 5 stars Wonderful, thought-provoking treatise on what economics should be about
'M ODonnell', commenter below, needs to read this book more carefully. Quite clearly on page 33 it says that at the height of Communism Russians were amongst the most miserable... Read more

Published on 9 Sep 2007 by slarti112

4.0 out of 5 stars The effects of the consumer society on happiness
This book is a very easy read. I read well over half the book in a couple of hours. If you have read books from a psychological perspective then this book will give another view... Read more

Published on 25 May 2007 by Ms. K. Purves

4.0 out of 5 stars A very good book, but not as good as it thinks
I happily give this book four stars because I thoroughly enjoyed it. In fact I thought his findings were immensely interesting and his conclusions always thought provoking... Read more

Published on 22 May 2007 by Roderick Sutherland

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