ABSTRACT
Accelerating globalization, particularly over the past half-century, has promoted an expansion of interest in happiness, among a variety of groups and nations. Any serious student of globalization must note the often complicated combination of regional and global forces, and this certainly applies to happiness: there can be no argument that a single global standard of happiness has emerged. In 2012, the United Nations established March 20 as an annual International Day of Happiness, intending it as a regular global celebration. In 2019, New Zealand made an even more explicit move, unveiling its first-ever “well-being budget.” Targets included mental health, child poverty, rights of indigenous peoples, plus developing a low carbon-emission economy and promoting flourishing in a digital age. The growing interest in happiness built on major changes in material conditions for much of the world’s population. Rapid industrialization in places like China and Brazil combined with growing economic opportunities for many people in East Africa or Southeast Asia.
