Wellbeing

Richard Layard is a leading British Economist, who thinks society's goal should be the wellbeing of the people. His landmark book Happiness: Lessons from a New Science has influenced policy-makers worldwide. He is co-founder of Action for Happiness, of the World Happiness Report and of the World Wellbeing Movement. In 2020 was awarded the Lifetime Achievement Award by Britain's ESRC. Jan-Emmanuel De Neve is a Belgian Economist and professor at the University of Oxford where he directs the Wellbeing Research Centre. He is best known for his research on the economics of wellbeing which was selected among "The Management Ideas that Mattered Most" by Harvard Business Review and he was awarded the Veenhoven Award for his contributions to the scientific study of happiness. He is an editor of the World Happiness Report and co-founder of the World Wellbeing Movement.

'Wellbeing: Science and Policy is a wonderful book by two giants in the field. It is a serious treatment of the potential - and limitations - of wellbeing metrics as analytical and scientific tools, as well as their many possible applications to policy frames and designs. It serves as an introduction to the field and is written in approachable language and with clarity of definition of technical areas. It is a book that will make a lasting contribution to the advancement and understanding of the new science of wellbeing.' Carol Graham, Senior Fellow, The Brookings Institution, and College Park Professor, The University of Maryland

• Part I. The Case for Wellbeing: 1. What subjective wellbeing is and why it matters; 2. Wellbeing as the goal for society; Part II. Human Nature and Wellbeing: 3. How our behaviour affects our wellbeing; 4. How our thoughts affect our wellbeing; 5. Our bodies, our genes and our wellbeing; Part III. How Our Experience Affects Our Wellbeing: 6. The inequality of wellbeing: some basic facts; 7. Tools to explain wellbeing; 8. Explaining wellbeing: a first exploration; 9. Family, schooling and social media; 10. Health and healthcare; 11. Unemployment; 12. The quality of work; 13. Income; 14. Community; 15. The physical environment and the planet; Part IV. Government and Wellbeing: 16. How government affects wellbeing; 17. How wellbeing affects voting; 18. Cost effectiveness and policy choice.