… and the Pursuit of Happiness - Institute of Economic Affairs
… and the Pursuit of Happiness - Institute of Economic Affairs
… and the Pursuit of Happiness - Institute of Economic Affairs
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<strong>…</strong> <strong>and</strong> <strong>the</strong> pursuit <strong>of</strong> happiness<br />
are more equal countries happier?<br />
Figure 14 Membership <strong>of</strong> community groups<br />
30<br />
1<br />
2<br />
25<br />
Canada New Zeal<strong>and</strong><br />
3<br />
4<br />
5<br />
20<br />
15<br />
Norway<br />
Finl<strong>and</strong><br />
Switzerl<strong>and</strong> UK<br />
6<br />
Australia<br />
USA<br />
Ne<strong>the</strong>rl<strong>and</strong>s<br />
7<br />
8<br />
Sweden<br />
France<br />
9<br />
10<br />
Germany<br />
10<br />
Slovenia<br />
Italy<br />
11<br />
Japan<br />
Spain<br />
12<br />
5<br />
13<br />
14<br />
0<br />
24 28 32 36 40 44<br />
15<br />
Inequality (GINI)<br />
16<br />
17<br />
18<br />
19<br />
20<br />
21<br />
22<br />
23<br />
24<br />
25<br />
26<br />
27<br />
28<br />
29<br />
30<br />
% <strong>of</strong> population involved in community group (index)<br />
organizations (sports clubs, charities, religious groups <strong>and</strong> arts<br />
groups). Figure 15 shows <strong>the</strong> Heritage Foundation’s measure <strong>of</strong><br />
economic freedom. Figure 16 shows <strong>the</strong> proportion <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> population<br />
who agree with <strong>the</strong> statement ‘God is very important in my<br />
life’ <strong>and</strong> Figures 17 <strong>and</strong> 18 show two factors that negatively affect<br />
happiness: unemployment <strong>and</strong> divorce.<br />
The Sc<strong>and</strong>inavian nations all perform unusually well on <strong>the</strong><br />
measure <strong>of</strong> trust, but this does not seem to be <strong>the</strong> result <strong>of</strong> greater<br />
income equality since <strong>the</strong> overall correlation is weak <strong>and</strong> many<br />
Source: Statistics from <strong>Institute</strong> for Fiscal Studies (2010)<br />
<strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> ‘less equal’ countries have high levels <strong>of</strong> trust. There is a<br />
similarly weak correlation between inequality <strong>and</strong> community<br />
involvement, but in this instance <strong>the</strong> data show that <strong>the</strong> ‘less<br />
equal’ countries perform better. There are stronger correlations<br />
Figure 15 <strong>Economic</strong> freedom (Heritage Foundation 2011)<br />
<strong>Economic</strong> freedom (Heritage Foundation 2011)<br />
97<br />
90<br />
83<br />
Denmark<br />
76<br />
Japan<br />
Ne<strong>the</strong>rl<strong>and</strong>s<br />
Finl<strong>and</strong><br />
UK<br />
Sweden<br />
Belgium<br />
Austria<br />
Germany<br />
69<br />
Czech Rep Ṇorway<br />
Korea Spain<br />
62<br />
Hungary<br />
Slovenia<br />
Switzerl<strong>and</strong><br />
Australia<br />
Canada<br />
France<br />
Irel<strong>and</strong><br />
Greece Italy<br />
New Zeal<strong>and</strong><br />
Israel<br />
Portugal<br />
Hong Kong<br />
Singapore<br />
55<br />
24 28 32 36 40 44<br />
Inequality (GINI)<br />
Figure 16 ‘God is very important in my life’ (%)<br />
'God is very important in my life' (%)<br />
70<br />
60<br />
50<br />
40<br />
Canada<br />
Israel<br />
Irel<strong>and</strong> Portugal<br />
30<br />
Greece Italy<br />
Australia<br />
Singapore<br />
Switzerl<strong>and</strong><br />
UK<br />
Source: Statistics from <strong>Institute</strong> Austria for Fiscal Studies (2010)<br />
20<br />
New Zeal<strong>and</strong><br />
Hungary Belgium<br />
Finl<strong>and</strong><br />
Norway<br />
Slovenia<br />
10 Sweden<br />
Spain<br />
France<br />
Denmark<br />
Germany Ne<strong>the</strong>rl<strong>and</strong>s<br />
Japan Czech Rep.<br />
Korea<br />
Hong Kong<br />
0<br />
24 28 32 36 40 44<br />
Inequality (GINI)<br />
USA<br />
USA<br />
118 119
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