Now on its seventh edition, the World Happiness Report offers "a landmark survey of the state of global happiness." The 2019 report, edited by John F. Helliwell (Vancouver School of Economics), Richard Layard (London School of Economics), and Jeffrey D. Sachs (Columbia University), centers on "how happiness has been changing over the past dozen years, and how information technology, governance,...

The annual World Happiness Report (previously featured in the 03-13-2020 Scout Report) looks at happiness and well-being around the world. Readers can check out how their home country ranks among others, learn the secrets of Earth's happiest countries, and consider how data can be employed to measure happiness. The 2021 report focuses on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on happiness, including...

We last featured this dataset in the 09-14-18 Scout Report, and it remains a great resource to return to if you are looking for statistical analysis that will make you smile. From FlowingData (featured in the 1-22-2016 Scout Report) comes "What Makes People the Most Happy," published in June 2018. Here, statistician Nathan Yau analyzes "a corpus of 100,000 happy moments" created when...

Housed at the University of California, Berkeley, the Greater Good Science Center (GGSC) is "devoted to the scientific understanding of happy and compassionate individuals, strong social bonds, and altruistic behavior." To achieve this goal, the GGSC enlists a broad range of scholars from various disciplines, publishes a quarterly magazine ("Greater Good"), and maintains an outreach program that...

For a more earnest look at happiness, check out the web site of the Happiness Research Institute, an independent think tank based in Copenhagen, Denmark. The fascinating articles here make large scale surveys and empirical projects sensical and relevant to anyone with an interest in well-being- for themselves, their communities, and their nation. From the homepage, click New Report to read about...

How do we measure happiness? Is it through the strength of our relationships with others? Is it by the number of material possessions we have? This remarkable book, edited by Arthur A. Stone and Christopher Mackie, looks at "the current state of research and evaluates methods for the measurement of happiness." Additionally, the report "offers guidance about adopting subjective well-being measures...

"What makes [you] happy?" When asked this question, interviewees on The Science of Happiness podcast gave varied answers, including "sunny days, no stress, music, and community." This question is one of many explored through the podcast, which is produced by Public Radio International and the Greater Good Science Center at UC Berkeley. The podcast is on a mission to help listeners "learn...