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We consulted about 50 studies in the ‘science of happiness’ during our research for the Personal Prosperiscope. Wherever possible, we tried to use the studies that covered the largest samples from the largest number of countries. Below, we’ve listed the 13 studies that we relied on the most to build the Personal Prosperiscope.

Truth be told, these can be pretty heavy going, if you’re not an academic. There are, however, a number of good books that provide an introduction to the subject and are aimed at a general reader. We recommend Gross National Happiness: Why Happiness Matters for America and How We Can Get More of It, by Arthur Brooks, and Happiness: Lessons from a New Science, by Richard Layard. For a more academic perspective, The Challenge of Affluence: Self-Control and Well-Being in the United States and Britain Since 1950, by Avner Offer, is a good choice.

The main studies we used to build the Personal Prosperiscope are:

Bartolini, S., E. Bilancini and M. Pugno (2007). “Did the Decline in Social Capital Decrease American Happiness?“ Paper presented at Conference Policies for Happiness, June 14-17, 2007, University of Siena.

Blanchflower, D.J. and A. J. Oswald (2004). “Money, Sex and Happiness: An Empirical Study.” Scandinavian Journal of Economics 106(3): 319-415.

Brereton, F., J. P. Clinch and S. Ferreira (April 2006). “Happiness, Geography and the Environment.” Working Paper, Planning and Environmental Policy Research Series PEP 06/0, University College Dublin.

Clark, A. E., Y. G. and P. Sanfey (May 2001). “Scarring: The Psychological Impact of Past Unemployment.” Economica New Series 68(270): 221-241.

Di Tella, R., J. MacCulloch, and A. J. Oswald (November 2003). “The Macroeconomics of Happiness.” The Review of Economics and Statistics 85(4): 809–827

Frijters, P., J. P. Haisken-DeNew and M. A. Shields (Summer 2004). “Investigating the Patterns and Determinants of Life Satisfaction in Germany Following Reunification.” The Journal of Human Resources 39 (3): 649-674.

Graham, C. and S. Pettinato (2001). “Happiness, Markets, and Democracy: Latin America in Comparative Perspective.” Journal of Happiness Studies 2:237-268.

Helliwell, J. F. (2002). “How’s Life? Combining Individual and National Variables to Explain Subjective Well-being.” NBER Working Paper 9065, National Bureau of Economic Research, Cambridge.

Helliwell, J. F. and H. Huang (May 2007). “Well-Being and Trust in the Workplace”. Paper, Social Interactions, Identity and Well-Being Research Program, Canadian Institute for Advanced Research and Department of Economics, University of British Columbia.

Meier, S. and A. Stutzer (February 2004). “Is Volunteering Rewarding in Itself? Working Paper 180. Working Paper Series, Institute for Empirical Research in Economics, University of Zurich.

Stutzer, A. and B. Frey (August 2004). “Stress That Doesn’t Pay: The Commuting Paradox”. Working Paper Series, Working Paper 151, Institute for Empirical Research in Economics, University of Zurich.

Verme, P. (June 2007). “Happiness & Freedom”. Working Paper, Department of Economics S. Cognetti de Martiis, University of Torino and School of Management SDA-Bocconi, Milano.

Wallace, C., F. Pichler and B. C. Hayes (1995). “First European Quality of Life Survey: Quality of Work and Life Satisfaction.” EF/06/95/EN, European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions, Luxembourg, Office for Official Publications of the European Communities.