|
Showing 1 - 4 of
4 matches in All Departments
Economic growth is generally regarded by governments and most
ordinary people as a panacea for all problems, including issues
caused by the COVID pandemic. But this raises an important
question: is further growth in advanced economies able to increase
well-being once people's basic subsistence needs are met? Some
advanced market economies, e.g. the United States, have exhibited a
decline in well-being, both subjectively and objectively measured,
over several decades despite seeing economic growth during the same
period. This book provides an original and comprehensive
explanation: economic growth, as driven by market forces, induces
people, through both the demand- and supply-side channels, to
pursue command over more material resources, and this weakens the
self-generation of capabilities, putting well-being at risk of
deterioration. The book argues, with the support of a variety of
evidence, that the challenge can be overcome if governments'
policies and people's choices pursue, as their ultimate goal,
'fundamental human development' on an evolutionary basis: the
development of the capability of a typical person to conceive and
share with others new purposes, to pursue them individually or
collectively, and thus to contribute to building human culture. If
such human development is prioritised, it makes people satisfied
with their lives and resistant to adverse shocks, and it can even
shape the pattern of economic growth. By contrast, if economic
growth is prioritised, it tends to weaken and impoverish
fundamental human development, and consequently people's well-being
and social cohesion. With this volume, readers will find an answer
to a problem that is both urgent and long-term, both individual and
societal. The work makes a substantial contribution to the
literature on wellbeing, the economics of happiness, human capital
and growth, and the capability approach.
Economic growth has extraordinarily increased the availability of
market goods to satisfy people's need for comfort, but at the same
time it has also raised great challenges to their working and
family life. Will people learn the skill necessary to cope with
these challenges and draw full enjoyment from economic growth? On
the Foundations of Happiness in Economics explores this question by
examining the work of Tibor Scitovsky, author of The Joyless
Economy. Given the recent rise of behavioural economics and
happiness economics, this book aims to show how far ahead of his
time Scitovsky was in his work on individual welfare (or
wellbeing). It traces the evolution of Scitovsky's original
thought, arguing that he has been frequently misunderstood, before
undertaking formal analysis in order to demonstrate how far his
work anticipated or even went beyond the recent advances in
economics. This volume also explores Scitovsky's work in the
context of Keynes' work on wellbeing, offering a new perspective on
welfare in the history of economic thought. Other issues discussed
in this text regard creativity and social skills, hedonism and
eudaimonia, parenting and education, addiction, work/leisure
balance, policies for happiness, paternalism, and the quality of
economic growth. This book addresses a variety of readers, such as
those interested in the history of economics, as well as students
and researchers concerned with the economic theory of well-being.
Economic growth has extraordinarily increased the availability of
market goods to satisfy people's need for comfort, but at the same
time it has also raised great challenges to their working and
family life. Will people learn the skill necessary to cope with
these challenges and draw full enjoyment from economic growth? On
the Foundations of Happiness in Economics explores this question by
examining the work of Tibor Scitovsky, author of The Joyless
Economy. Given the recent rise of behavioural economics and
happiness economics, this book aims to show how far ahead of his
time Scitovsky was in his work on individual welfare (or
wellbeing). It traces the evolution of Scitovsky's original
thought, arguing that he has been frequently misunderstood, before
undertaking formal analysis in order to demonstrate how far his
work anticipated or even went beyond the recent advances in
economics. This volume also explores Scitovsky's work in the
context of Keynes' work on wellbeing, offering a new perspective on
welfare in the history of economic thought. Other issues discussed
in this text regard creativity and social skills, hedonism and
eudaimonia, parenting and education, addiction, work/leisure
balance, policies for happiness, paternalism, and the quality of
economic growth. This book addresses a variety of readers, such as
those interested in the history of economics, as well as students
and researchers concerned with the economic theory of well-being.
Few would dispute that the well-being of individuals is one of the
most desirable aims of human actions. However, approaches on how to
define, measure, evaluate, and promote well-being differ widely.
The conventional economic approach takes income (or the power to
acquire market goods) as the most important indicator for
well-being, and the utility function as the formal device for
positive and normative analysis. However, this approach to
well-being has been questioned for being seriously limited and
other approaches have arisen.
The capability approach to well-being, which has been developed
during the last two decades by Amartya Sen and Martha Nussbaum, and
the Happiness Approach to well-being, championed by Richard
Easterlin, both provide an alternative. Both approaches come from
different traditions and have developed independently, but
nevertheless aim to overcome the rigid boundaries of the
conventional economic approach to well-being. Given these common
aims, it is surprising that little comparative work has been
undertaken across these approaches. This book aims to correct this
by providing the reader with contributions from leading names
associated with both approaches, as well as contributions which
evaluate the approaches and contrast one with the other.
|
|