This paper from the May 2008 edition of Kyklos [ungated] just may be the best paper ever written. It investigates the happiness of economics Nobel Prize winners, non-Nobel superstar economists, and prominent happiness researchers by showing their website photographs to people on the street in Melbourne Brisbane, Australia. Thus it contains winning lines such as:
[T]he advice for young academics is: if you seek happiness, become a macro-economist and research happiness; a Nobel Prize does not make you happier; if you want to be popular with the ladies, take lessons from Edmund Phelps, Bruno Frey and Richard Easterlin; if you are looking for the ability to age like a red wine, Joseph Stiglitz and Jean Tirole have the trick, but not Richard Easterlin.
Who, according to the good people of Melbourne Brisbane, is the happiest economist? Well, who do you think? [Click for full size.]
That’s right, Edmund Phelps. That man is clearly loving life.
Congratulations to the authors for this exemplary piece of social science!
This sounds like something Arnold Kling would write to make fun of happiness research.
Indeed it does, but funnier.
I love this! Just stumbled upon it thanks to one of the thousand blogs I get feeds from. You look like you could be one of the happier ones.
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For goodness' sake, they're very clear in the paper that they surveyed the good people of Brisbane, not Melbourne.
As a non-economist, I only recognize Krugman and Stiglitz. I will comment on Krugman.
Krugman is a liberal. Krugman has conscience.
Liberals are inherently unhappy. Having a conscience will only make things worse. Thus, Krugman is unhappy.
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What an article that has been published.I don't think that anybdy befor has ever even tried to even think about such an article
well done
Eliza
real estate
Happiness is a matter of choice. We cannot find or locate it somewhere else. Its within us.
Like the article, Makes much sense. Thanks for sharing by the way.
Very well said. Hapiness is something which is distributed to others by first feeling happy himself.
Yes you are right. It sounds like this only.
According to me, Edmund Phelps is the happiest economist. You are right. He manages all this very well.
According to me, Edmund Phelps is the happiest economist. You are right. He manages all this very well.
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