THE ECONOMICS OF HAPPINESS IN ROBERT MICHELS BETWEEN BENTHAMIAN UTILITARIANISM AND CIVIL ECONOMY

The paper thematizes the problematic relationship between economy and happiness covered by economist Robert Michels (1876-1936) in his book “The Economics of Happiness” written in 1918. In this book Michels, as a true frontier scholar, provides, well in advance of the acquisitions of the modern “science of happiness”, an interdisciplinary reading of the different determinants of happiness and of their interactions, courageously refuting the monistic and reductionist paradigm of neoclassical economy dominant in his epoch. The hedonistic conception of happiness conceived by Michels echoes that formulated by Jeremy Bentham, but Michels, unlike the Utilitarians of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, gives it an unexpected twist, by postulating heretically that happiness is the ultimate goal of economy and that wealth is only a means to achieve it. In establishing the primacy of happiness as the main purpose of economic activity, Michels follows in the footsteps of Neapolitan and Milanese Civil Economists of Enlightenment with whom he had other theoretical points of consonance which the paper highlights. However Michels’ conception of happiness differs from Civil Economists’ notion because it is primarily based on individual pleasure and not on relational goods, because it is disconnected from those components of gratuitousness which are immanent to sincere relational goods, because it is detached from the search for Common Good. Finally the paper illustrates the multidimensional and innovative public policies which Michels suggests for the achievement of happiness by invoking a wide range of integrated interventions to be carried out by the State and by the workers’ unions. Keywords: Happiness Economics, Benthamian Utilitarianism, Civil Economy

Overview on Well-being Theories and the Role of Individual Responsibility

This paper aims to make a theoretical review on the main approaches to Well-being and also introduce the subject of Responsibility as an element to be considered in this discussion. Thus, three theories of well-being are presented: the Mainstream Economics, the Happiness Economics and The Capability Approach. Each of them provides considerations about what matters for people’s life and social development. However, none of them contemplates individual responsibility as a relevant component for development. And only The Capability Approach takes account of responsibility, but without furthering the subject. In this sense, the theme of responsibility is defended as having an important role for development and well-being, and could be incorporated by The Capability Approach.

THE MANAGAGEMENT OF HAPPINESS ECONOMICS: STATISTICAL AND ANALYTICAL MEASUREMENTS ON THE STUDENTS`EXAMPLE

The purpose of the article is to develop theoretical and methodological principles of happiness economics on the students' example. Authors have interpreted the topic as an innovative branch. This direction involves accumulation of information in a field of management, which is aimed at achieving certain economic effects. An origin of these effects lies among the growth of social happiness. Authors built a conceptual model of managerial influences: students' happiness → happiness of university staff → happiness in education environment → happiness of the country. The focus was on the study of certain happiness aspects among the students. Authors developed a questionnaire, in which took part 107 students. Statistical analysis showed high respondents' exposure to happiness and high frequency of being in this state (76.6% noted a feeling of sincere joy during last three days). Among the top attributes of happiness are: health, inner harmony, understanding of loved ones. Less important attributes are: wealth, success and friends. The reason for low estimated friends is quarantine restrictions ─ limited communication with classmates. So the impact of the factor "frequent communication with classmates" on student's satisfaction with the university environment was statistically insignificant (Pearson Chi-Square = 0.960; p = 0.328). Also was proved that the happiest students help their classmates (Pearson Chi-Square = 26.4; p <0.001). Getting help contributes to the happiness of its recipients too (Pearson Chi-Square = 10.3; p <0.002). Moreover, higher level of satisfaction in university takes place among female students rather than male students (p = 0.007); those who are content with class schedule than those who are uncomfortable with it (p = 0.012); those that have good marks than those who do not (p = 0.005). COVID-19 caused significant problems in process of education. TOP-3 things that are needed for the student to be absolutely happy in some ways, due to the quarantine conditions. They are: internship in other countries; employment; offline classes. Results of the research are consistent with the conclusions of the leading institutions, in particular with the results published by the Kyiv International Institute of Sociology, which worked on a representative sample of Ukrainians in 2020.Also, they can serve as a guide for the management of higher education institutions, and hence for scientists to find ways to increase student happiness.

Renovación del pensamiento económico-empresarial tras la globalización: Talentism & Happiness Economics

Éste es un estudio histórico-comparado y crítico de pensamiento económico-empresarial, para revisar su ontología, axiología y epistemología. Se realiza un balance de las principales categorías y clasificaciones dominantes hasta la globalización, para adaptarlas al cambio paradigmático posglobalizatorio (y su Horizonte 2030), como implica la transición de la Economía de bienestar estatal a la Economía digital. Se realizan revelaciones sobre el intervencionismo económico y sus fallos conceptuales macroeconómicos y econométricos, tan influyentes en las reiteradas crisis sistémicas, cada vez más aceleradas y de tendencia extintiva. Se exponen también los novedosos planteamientos de la economía de felicidad y talento (v.g. RSC 3.0, salario emocional, clima laboral y satisfacción, motivación, gamificación), al ser palanca de cambio para avanzar hacia un nuevo estadio económico, rindiéndose cuenta de índices internacionales, certificaciones y buenas prácticas de las empresas líderes en la citada transformación y transición.

Happiness economics as technocracy

Happiness economics as advocated by Frijters et al. makes three assumptions: that policy should be based on facts about the net effect of a factor on happiness; that wellbeing policy should be technocratic and centralized; and that the only credible objections come from critics who do not value happiness. We argue that all three should be rejected and that the science and policy of wellbeing should instead be pluralistic, context-sensitive and participatory.

The Inefficiency of the Neoclassical Paradigm in the Promotion of Subjective Well-Being and Socioeconomic, and Environmental Sustainability: An Empirical Test for the Spanish Case

The recent literature developed in the field of happiness economics highlights the overvaluation of income and material prosperity as determinants of happiness, and calls into question many of the assumptions of traditional economic theory linked to “rationality” and the “non-satiety” of the consumer. This article aimed to study which factors explain individual subjective well-being, paying special attention to the role of income and the incidence of social variables and focusing on the case of Spain. As a novelty, this research introduces variables such as trust or the perception of justice, among others. Based on the analysis of the European Social Survey and through the estimation of an ordered logit, we find that, in line with the theory of happiness economics, the material aspects do not play a relevant role as explanatory of subjective well-being, unlike social aspects, such as sociability and trust in people (social capital). In addition, our results indicate that in the case of Spain, the most materialistic people are associated with a lower level of happiness. Thus, it seems that the excess of concern for material and economic issues in the pursuit of happiness undermines socioeconomic and environmental sustainability by causing the “wealth destruction effect”.

William Stanley Jevons and Francis Ysidro Edgeworth: Two Pioneers of Happiness Economics

Este artículo primero aborda temas relevantes para la forma en que actualmente se realizan los estudios de Economía de la Felicidad y más tarde muestra que para WS Jevons y FY Edgeworth, autores neoclásicos fundamentales, el objetivo de la Economía era maximizar la felicidad. En esto, coinciden con los economistas actuales que trabajan en esta área de investigación. Se muestra que el interés por la felicidad no es nuevo, sino que se apoya en una importante tradición económica vinculada a la filosofía utilitaria que data de la segunda mitad del siglo XIX.

Creation of the 'Happiness 360º' Model: Qualitative Analysis from Survey Responses

Qualitative data analysis has been increasingly important in the development of research, especially in the author’s main fields of investigation: Happiness Economics and Communication for the Development. To understand what Happiness means and in what form certain variables like gender, literacy, etc., influence the concept of happiness, based on a survey conducted in April 2018, we have analyzed the answers to the question "What is happiness for you? " using the software of Qualitative Analysis, Webqda. The great peculiarity is that it is an open question. It could be considered that the question is recurrent and the work redundant, but the results are very interesting from an analytical point of view. The 360º Happiness model main purpose is to support organizations in understanding the expectations of their workforce and help on defining their human resources management policies and adapt them according to the gender, generation or education level, for instance.