A provocative look at an area few economists dare to treadthe importance of happinessMost economists are obsessed with financial and economic measures, butherethe authormounts a provocative and persuasive case for happiness being the most important measure of all. Distilling the practical wisdom frommany recent scientific studies of happiness by psychologists and economists, he argues that happiness is not about maintaining a forced smile or a self-centered concern to maximize pleasure and minimize pain, but about living a satisfying life of endeavor, achievement, and mutually rewarding relationships.He alsoexplainsthat most peopleare happy most of the time, yet could do moreto increasetheir ownsatisfaction, andthat adifferent approach by governmentswith less emphasis on economic growth and efficiency, and more on preserving the planet and the social fabriccould add to "national happiness.""