Happiness

Bent Greve

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2023
• Print ISBN: 9781032384467
• eBook ISBN: 9781000891171
• Topic: Social Sciences
• Subtopic: Sociology
• Index: Social Sciences

This fully revised and updated edition of Happiness provides an accessible introduction to the concept of happiness and how it can be applied to public policy in order to help citizens achieve the good life.

Countries around the globe want to ensure the best for their citizens. They want them to be happy, have a good life and improve their well-being. It follows that, whilst happiness is based upon individuals' subjective perception of their own situation, it is important to understand the concept of happiness in order to form policies that might help individuals to achieve what they believe will make them happier. Applying approaches from disciplines across the social sciences, this book explores varying notions of happiness and how these can be applied to create a theoretical understanding of happiness as a concept. The book then demonstrates how the concept of happiness can be used to analyse social policy in welfare states in areas including work, health and migration, as well as to evaluate everyday life and social relationships.

This book will be essential reading for students and instructors in a range of subjects in the humanities and social sciences with an interest in the concept of happiness and/or welfare states.

Table of contents

• Cover
• Endorsements Page
• Half Title
• Series Page
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Table of Contents
• List of boxes
• List of figures
• List of tables
• Foreword
• 1 Introduction
• 2 What is happiness?
• 3 Can we measure happiness?
• 4 Happiness and different core aspects of life
• 5 Welfare states and happiness – any connections?
• 6 How to measure welfare and how this relates to happiness and well-being
• 7 Conclusions
• Bibliography
• Index