ABSTRACT
This chapter examines the use of the results of positive psychology as a tool for making economic policy, and presents the practical issues regarding defining and measuring happiness or well-being, both of which are critical to targeting either concept with policy. The chapter discusses some ethical issues with basing policy on happiness, and explains political implications of the government focusing on happiness above or alongside other concerns – some of which resemble criticisms of positive psychology itself. It argues that the way in which happiness research is conducted and included in policymaking processes is misguided because happiness is too vague, multifaceted, and subjective a phenomenon to be accurately measured in a way conducive to aggregation, averaging, and tracking over time. The chapter discusses issues that arise when different types of happiness are acknowledged by policymakers, necessitating some way of managing the trade-offs between them. No policy goal can be furthered without costs: Trade-offs is a ubiquitous implication of scarce resources.
