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Ben Page gave this presentation on Happiness at the Forum for European Philosophy ‘Consilience’ panel discussion at the London School of Economics (LSE) on Wednesday 16 January 2014.
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Our Happiness
Ben Page – Chief Executive, Ipsos MORI
@benatipsosmori #LSEHappiness
We can get reliable numbers from surveys
“Well being can’t be measured by money or traded in markets. It’s about the beauty of our surroundings, the quality of our culture, and above all, the strength of our relationships. Improving our society’s sense of well-being is, I believe, the central political challenge of our lives.”
Who said this?
David Cameron, May 2006
Already has critics – for miserablists!
86%93% 93% 93% 92% 92% 89% 88% 88% 88% 86% 86% 85% 85% 85% 85% 84% 84% 83% 83% 81% 78% 77% 74%
14%8% 7% 8% 8% 8% 9% 9% 9% 10% 11% 12% 12% 12% 14% 15% 15% 15% 15% 15% 16% 16% 17% 17% 19% 22% 23% 26%
90%91%91%91%
EU27
Gre
ece
Italy
Por
tuga
l
Spa
in
Malta
Cyp
rus
Luxe
mbo
urg
Hung
ary
Ireland
Eston
ia
Belgium
Aus
tria
Slove
nia
Franc
e
Lith
uania
Bulga
ria
Denm
ark
Swed
en UK
Ger
man
y
Finland
Neth
erland
s
Rom
ania
Polan
d
Cze
ch R
epubl
ic
Latvia
Slova
kia
Agree Disagree
It is a popular idea…
Base: 25,103 European adults
“Policies should put less emphasis on individual consumption, and more emphasis on other aspects of the quality of life.”
The economy,
stupid?
http://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/2008/04/16/business/20080416_LEONHARDT_GRAPHIC.jpg
Not all richer countries are happier
8
What’s with the Danes??
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
Sep-73 Sep-79 Sep-85 Sep-91 Sep-97 Sep-03 Sep-09
% Very Satisfied (EU) Denmark Greece France UK Germany Spain Italy
On the whole, are you very satisfied, fairly satisfied, not very satisfied or not at all satisfied with the life you lead? (Std EB, Nov 10)
What are your expectations for the next twelve months: will the next twelve months be better, worse or the
same, when it comes to...Your life in general? (Std EB: Nov 10)
The challenge
in the UK
What would make you happier?
37
35
30
23
22
21
19
17
16
15
13
12
6
5
More time with family Earning double what I do now
Q Which four or five of the following things do you think would make you happier?
More time with friends
More travelling
More time for leisure/sport
Better community spirit
Having a happy marriage
More contact with nature
Moving abroad
Learning new skills
Better health
Better housing
Moving jobs
More time to think/be alone
Base: 2,015 interviewed face to face in home in GB aged 15 +, 20-25 Sept
What would make you happiest?
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
15-24 25-34 35-44 45-54 55-64 65-74 75+
Age
%
Loads more money Better Health
More time with my family
More/better possessions
Base: 2,015 interviewed face to face in home in GB aged 15 +, 20-25 Sept
What would make you happiest?
10
20
30
40
50
AB C1 C2 DE
Social Class
%
Doubled income More time
with my family
More access to nature
Better housing
Base: 2,015 interviewed face to face in home in GB aged 15 +, 20-25 Sept
Money does
matter to a very
large proportion of
the population’s
happiness…
What else works?
Leisure and relationships……
“If you want to be happy for a few
hours, get drunk. If you want to
be happy for a few years, get a
wife. If you want to be happy
forever, get a garden”
Traditional
77%
74%
73%
72%
71%
74%
Leisure and relationships
At least once a week
At least once a month
Several times a
year
Once a year or
less
Never/almost never
Total
Satisfaction by frequency of gardening
76%
74%
73%
72%
70%
73%
Do some sport……..
At least once a week
At least once a month
Several times a
year
Once a year or
less
Never/almost never
Total
Life satisfaction by regularity of walking, swimming or playing sport
33%31%
25%
16%
Get Married
Married Co-habiting
Single Divorced/separated
% very happy
Base: 2,015 interviewed face to face in home in GB aged 15 +, 20-25 Sept
35%
30%28%
23%
Get Qualified
Degree or PHd
A Levels GSCE None
% very happy
Base: 2,015 interviewed face to face in home in GB aged 15 +, 20-25 Sept
26%28%
31%
35%
39%
47%
Go to church
Never Nearly weekly
Monthly +
Several times a
year
Several times
weekly
Weekly
-3
-5
-2
-4
31
26
29
30
15-34
35-54
55-74
75+
Base: 2013 British adults
Avoid middle age and teenagers
Taking all things together, would you say in general you are…
% Unhappy/ Very unhappy % Very Happy
46
47
48
49
50
51
52
53
54
55
56
Married
without
children
Child
bearing
Pre-school
children,
oldest 5
School
children,
oldest 5-12
Teenagers,
oldest 12-
16
First child
gone to
last leaving
at home
Empty nest
to
retirement
Empty next
to death of
first
spouse
Study 1 Study 2 Study 3 Study 4
The terror of teenagers!
%
The problems of adaption,
estimation bias and social
comparison
7
7.1
7.2
7.3
7.4
7.5
7.6
7.7
7.8
-4.0 -3.0 -2.0 -1.0 0.0 1.0 2.0 3.0 4.0
Lucas, Clark, Georgellis, and Diener (2003). N ~24,000
Lif
e S
ati
sfa
cti
on
Happiness and getting married…….
Things are never as good or as bad as we
think they will be...
Some things that might increase happiness
Get married
Become richer than your friends, but stay friends with them to beat
the problem of social comparison
As you earn more, try to constrain the growth in your spending to
beat the problem of adaption
Find religion, and attend meetings at least monthly, if not weekly
Find some extra leisure time and spend more time with friends
and family
Get a degree
Visit your doctor for a health test – the healthier, the happier
Live to a ripe old age – being middle aged is just depressing
