The use of happiness in society

Happiness economics is one of the hottest new research fields in recent times, and increasingly, a fast track to top journal publications and research grants. Even the name makes you wish you'd studied economics. The problem, however, is that it's not just doctoral students and journal editors who think this. Political leaders such as Nicolas Sarkozy in France and David Cameron in the United Kingdom, and invariably more to follow, have already sought to galvanise a new role for the state in delivering aggregate happiness outcomes guided by new happiness metrics and policy. Worryingly, happiness economics is increasingly becoming a political project.