Is happiness a predictor of election results?

Is it in politicians’ interest to focus policy on subjective well-being (SWB)? Many governments and international organisations have recently begun to measure progress at least partly in terms of the population’s SWB or “happiness”. This paper investigates the extent to which citizens themselves judge national success in such terms. Using cross-country panel data, the analysis shows that the electoral fate of governing parties is associated not only with the state of the macroeconomy—as a substantial literature on ‘economic voting’ suggests—but also with the electorate’s wider well-being. A country’s aggregate level of SWB is able to account for more of the variance in government vote share than standard macroeconomic variables. This is consistent with a simple political agency model, and has implications for the incentives faced by politicians to act in the interests of voters

THE EVIDENCE OF ANONYMOUS WITNESSES IN CRIMINAL COURTS: NOW AND INTO THE FUTURE

Anonymous witness evidence, the use of which had quietly expanded in the early part of the twenty-first century in criminal courts in England and Wales, was significantly curtailed by the House of Lords in the case of R v Davis. Little over a month later the government had enacted legislation to minimise the impact of their Lordships’ ruling, yet the long-term future of this area of the criminal law of evidence remains undetermined. This article seeks to assess what impact the Criminal Evidence (Witness Anonymity) Act 2008 has had on the right to a fair trial in England and Wales and, subsequently, to weigh up the options for long-term reform in this area of the law. It will be submitted that the stated policy aim of the government, the protection of witnesses, can be achieved for the long-term without impeding or undermining the absolute right of the defendant to a fair trial

TIME VARYING PARAMETERS IN THE DEMAND FOR HIGH FRUCTOSE CORN SYRUP

Rapid adoption of high fructose corn syrup and the changing demand for HFCS is measured in a time-varying framework. Demand changes are separated into structural and price competitiveness. Tests for parameter stability are made and simulations based on the estimates are used to show the industry dynamics.Demand and Price Analysis,

How Big is Big Enough? Firm Size as a Barrier to Exporting in South Carolina's Manufacturing Sector

International Relations/Trade,

Happiness at work

Happiness is typically defined by how people experience and evaluate their lives as a whole. Since the majority of people spend much of their lives at work, it is critically important to gain a solid understanding of the role that employment and the workplace play in shaping happiness for individuals and communities around the world. In this paper, we focus largely on the role of work and employment in shaping people’s happiness, and investigate how employment status, job type, and workplace characteristics relate to measures of subjective wellbein

Reviews

Integrating Information Technology into Education edited by Deryn Watson and David Tinsley, London, Chapman & Hall, 1995, ISBN: 0–412–62250–5, 316 pages

Ultimate Biochemical Oxygen Demand in Semi-Intensively Managed Shrimp Pond Waters

Three independent studies were conducted to quantify ultimate biochemical oxygen demand (UBOD) and the corresponding decomposition rate constant for production pond (average 21.5 ha each) waters and effluents on six semi-intensively managed marine shrimp (Litopenaeus vannamei) farms in Honduras. Samples were collected during the rainy season in studies 1-3 and during the dry season only in study 1. Pond water samples were collected during the culture period and/or at harvest. The dry season 30-d biochemical oxygen demand (BOD30) of pond waters across all farms was 26% lower and UBOD was 54% lower, but the decomposition rate constant was more than twice as great as during the rainy season. During the dry season, biochemical oxygen demand was nearly completely expressed after 30 d of incubation whereas during the rainy season BOD was about 65% expressed after 31 d of incubation and the correlation between BOD31 and UBOD was less strong compared to the dry season. Water quality variables were correlated with measures of BOD during rainy and dry seasons, but only the correlation between chlorophyll a and BOD measures was predictive. In studies 2 and 3, BOD after 88-94 d of incubation was expressed almost completely and corresponded closely with computed UBOD. No significant differences in UBOD were detected in pond samples taken after 30, 61, or 71 (harvest) d of grow out in study 3. Mean decomposition rate constant ranged from 0.054-0.071 d-1 in studies 1-3 (rainy season), compared to 0.123 d-1 in study 1 (dry season)