Happiness Around the Globe (w/John Helliwell)

Dec 8, 2020

John Helliwell is Professor emeritus of Economics at University of British Columbia and editor of The World Happiness Report, a landmark survey of the state of global happiness that ranks 156 countries by how happy their citizens perceive themselves to be. The report has been published since 2012 when the United Nations General Assembly invited countries to measure their citizen’s happiness. And why not? We measure and report GNP, the GDP, the unemployment rate, average income, home sales, but not happiness. Aren’t all these things surrogates for what we should be evaluating, i.e. happiness? 

 

On today’s show, John shares the themes he and his colleagues have identified over years of study but also the more recent effects of Covid pandemic and quarantine on our overall happiness. 

 

John studied as a Rhodes Scholar at Oxford where he received his PhD. In 1967, John joined the economics faculty at University of British Columbia where he is now Professor Emeritus. In addition to many other distinctions, he was a visiting research fellow at Merton College, Oxford, and a Fullbright Fellow and MacKenzie King Visiting Professor of Canadian Studies at Harvard University (it’s near Boston, in case you’ve never heard of it)

 

Take a few minutes to read his work: World Happiness Report. 

 

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Produced and edited by Mike Carano

About Crazy Money:

Unlike traditional personal finance shows, Crazy Money is not about how to make a million bucks, how to beat the market, or how to save money by switching cable providers. It is about deciding what role we want money to play in our lives and how we can use it to be our best selves. Topics covered include: philosophy, happiness, contentment, meaning, dreams, purpose, success, society, mental health, Buddhism, Stoicism, the hedonic treadmill, morality, mid-life Crisis, business, work, careers, authors, books, consumerism, values, capitalism, economics, investing, saving, spending, charity, philanthropy, altruism, affluence, wealth, wealth management, culture, society. Status.

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