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GCPH Seminar Series 5: - Prof Avner Offer - 'Should Government try to make us happy?'
Manage episode 10032786 series 19603
The determinants of 'happiness' and its distribution both domestically and internationally suggest that a more appropriate target for policy is 'unhappiness', which responds to several forms of public action. But setting happiness as an objective does suggest some policy priorities. These include non-material forms of recognition, taxation of positional goods and support of culture and the arts. Individuals have an intrinsic short-term myopic bias, which is exacerbated by the flow of novelty in affluent societies. They find it difficult to commit. Government has a role in supporting personal and social commitment for the long term, e.g. in co-ordinating responses to challenges such as climate change and energy depletion.
69 episodes
Manage episode 10032786 series 19603
The determinants of 'happiness' and its distribution both domestically and internationally suggest that a more appropriate target for policy is 'unhappiness', which responds to several forms of public action. But setting happiness as an objective does suggest some policy priorities. These include non-material forms of recognition, taxation of positional goods and support of culture and the arts. Individuals have an intrinsic short-term myopic bias, which is exacerbated by the flow of novelty in affluent societies. They find it difficult to commit. Government has a role in supporting personal and social commitment for the long term, e.g. in co-ordinating responses to challenges such as climate change and energy depletion.
69 episodes
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