ABSTRACT
Not even the most critical observers can convince us that economic variables such as income, wealth or employment are not important objectives in life. Who can deny the evidence that wealthier people usually enjoy better health, longer life spans, lower infant mortality rates, and greater access to goods, services and education? From the enjoyment of such benefits it should take just one short step to affirm that, on average, those who possess more are happier than those who possess less. Yet one of the most important and worrying discoveries of the last decades is that such a step is not that short, nor that certain, and in fact can even take a negative turn.
