Apparent quality-of-life in nations : how long and happy people live

Quality-of-life in nations can be measured by how long and happy people live. This is assessed by combining data on life expectancy drawn from civil registration with survey data on subjective enjoyment of life as a whole. This measure of 'apparent' quality-of-life is a good alternative to current indexes of 'assumed' quality-of-life such as the Human Development Index. Data are available for 67 nations in the 1990s. The number of Happy-Life-Years varies considerably across nations. Switzerland is at the top with 63.0 years and Moldavia at the bottom with 20.5 years. China is in the middle with an average of 46.7. Happy lifetime has risen considerably in advanced nations over the last decade. People live longer and happier in nations characterised by economic affluence, freedom and justice. Together these three societal qualities explain 66% of the cross-national variance in Happy-Life-Years. Income equality and generous social security do not appear to be required for a long and happy life

Classic wisdom about ways to happiness: How does it apply today?

__Abstract__ Since we humans have some choice in how we live our lives, there has always been ideas about what constitutes a good life. Written reflections on that subject focus typically on moral issues, but there have always been ideas about what constitutes a satisfying life. Interest in this classic wisdom is increasing today, as part of the rising concern about happiness. This begs the question of what we can learn from this ancient wisdom. Does it hold universal truth? Or are these views specific for the historical conditions from which they emerged? In this paper I consider some classic beliefs about happiness and inspect how well these apply in contemporary society. The following five beliefs are considered: 1) Happiness is found in fame and power: follow the path of the warrior. 2) Happiness is found in wealth and involvement: follow the path of the merchant. 3) Happiness is found in intellectual development: follow the path of the philosopher. 4) Happiness is found in simplicity: follow the path of the peasant. 5) Happiness is not of this world: follow the path of the monk. Each of these ways to happiness will manifest in specific behaviors and attitudes and I inspected to what extent these go together with happiness today. To do this. I selected relevant research findings from the World Database of Happiness. The classic beliefs 1 and 2 seem to apply fairly well today, but 3 and 4 not. The advice to seek happiness in other-worldly detachment (5) may have been more sensible in the brutish conditions of feudal society, in which it emerged