Global Happiness Policy Report 2018 Global Happiness Council Table of Contents Global Happiness Policy Report 2018 1 Good Governance in the 21st Century . 3 2 Global Happiness Policy Synthesis 2018 . 11 3 Mental Illness Destroys Happiness And Is Costless To Treat . 27 4 Positive Education . 53 5 Work and Well-being: A Global Perspective . 75 6 Social Well-Being: Research and Policy Recommendations . 129 7 Happy Cities in a Smart World . 159 8 Countries’ Experiences with Well-being and Happiness Metrics . 201 Appendix . 247 The Global Happiness Policy Report was written by a group of independent experts acting in their personal capacities. Any views expressed in this report do not necessarily reflect the views of any organization, agency or programme. The Global Happiness Council Vancouver School of Economics at the University of British Columbia, and Canadian Institute for The Global Happiness Council (GHC) is a new Advanced Research global network of leading academic specialists in Richard Layard happiness and key practitioners in areas ranging Health Chair from psychology, economics, urban planning, Founder-Director of the Centre for Economic civil society, business and government. The GHC Performance at the London School of Economics, identifies best practices at the national and local and currently Co-Director of the Centre’s levels to encourage advancement of the causes Well-being research programme of happiness and well-being. Martin Seligman Council members oversee the work of six Education Chair thematic groups (education, workplace, personal Zellerbach Family Professor of Psychology happiness, public health, city design and and Director of the Positive Psychology Center management) who each produce a chapter of at the University of Pennsylvania policy recommendations in the Global Happiness Policy Report, published annually. This report Shawn Achor provides evidence and policy advice to Goodthink participating governments on best practices to Ahmad Alshugairi promote happiness and wellbeing. Partner and the CEO of Aram The work of the Council will be complementary Irina Bokova to the World Happiness Reports and other Former Director-General of UNESCO research on the measurement and explanation of happiness. The aim of the GHC is to survey Dasho Karma Ura and share best practice policies drawn from the President of the Centre for Bhutan Studies research literature and government experiences Lise Kingo around the globe. UN Global Compact Members Sonja Lyubomirsky Professor and Vice Chair of Psychology at the Jeffrey D. Sachs University of California, Riverside Director of the Global Happiness Council Director, SDSN, and Director, Center for Gus O’Donnell Sustainable Development, Columbia University UK House of Lords, Patron of the What Works Centre for WellBeing, and former Cabinet Dr. Aisha Bin Bishr Secretary and Head of the UK Civil Service. Cities Chair Director General of the Smart Dubai Office Jan-Emmanuel de Neve Workplace Chair Said Business School, Oxford University Martine Durand Metrics Chair Director of Statistics and Chief Statistician of the OECD Ed Diener Personal Happiness Chair Professor of Psychology at the University of Virginia, the University of Utah, and Senior Scientist for the Gallup Organization John F. Helliwell Synthesis Report Chair 2 Chapter 1 3 Good Governance in the 21st Century Jeffrey D . Sachs Director of the Global Happiness Council Director, SDSN, and Director, Center for Sustainable Development, Columbia University The global movement to put happiness at the conjecture and hope; but it is the responsibility center of governance reflects a mix of inspiring of scholars and moral leaders everywhere to idealism and down-to-earth realism. Skeptics of encourage the UAE’s important initiative and the happiness movement believe that power, help it grow. On the encouraging side, this year’s not happiness, is the (inevitable) business of Nobel Peace Prize to the International Campaign government. Yet pursuing happiness is not only to Abolish Nuclear Weapons recognizes the idealistic; it is the world’s best and perhaps only grassroots work of hundreds of organizations hope to avoid global catastrophe. around the world in around 100 countries engaged in the effort to end the threat of nuclear war. The paradoxical condition of modernity was On the worrying side, the Bulletin of Atomic stated by President John F. Kennedy in his Scientists has put the hands of their Doomsday inaugural address of January 20, 1961. “For Clock at just 2 minutes 30 seconds to midnight, 4 mankind holds in his mortal hands the ability the closest it’s been to midnight since the early to end all forms of human poverty, and all forms 5 1980s at a dark moment of the Cold War. In of human life.” When Kennedy uttered those short, the Global Dialogue for Happiness has its famous words, the grave danger was thermo- work cut out for it, at a time of promise but also nuclear war. Today there are other global dangers very high anxiety and risk. as well, most notably human-induced global warming, but also the rapid spread of emerging The conditions for achieving happiness within a diseases and the human-caused destruction of nation are becoming increasingly well understood, biodiversity. Choosing happiness over power is thanks to advances in survey data, psychology, therefore our path to global safety and survival. and comparative social analysis. The World Happiness Report has demonstrated that a The 2018 World Government Summit, an inspiring country’s ranking on happiness depends on six undertaking of the United Arab Emirates, takes key conditions: economic prosperity, including place in the shadow of threatened and actual decent work for all who want it; the physical conflict. World leaders exchange threats and and mental health of the citizens; freedom of insults that one would expect in a schoolyard, individuals to make key life decisions; strong and not between nuclear powers and not at the vibrant social support networks (social capital); podium of the United Nations General Assembly. shared public values of generosity; and social Many countries in Africa, the Middle East, and trust, including confidence in the honesty of Asia remain trapped in a cycle of war, with major business and government. regional and global powers vying for advantage while the local people suffer and die in proxy It’s no accident, for example, that the Scandinavian wars. Modern armaments continue to flood into countries routinely top the list of happiest these proxy wars. countries in the annual World Happiness Report. These countries are prosperous, healthy, and It would seem unlikely that happiness can get trusting. Corruption is low. Generosity is high. much of a hearing in such troubled times. Yet Individuals feel empowered to make key life people around the world yearn for happiness, not choices. The social welfare state limits the war, and some very wise politicians understand inequalities between wealth and poverty, and that their job is to deliver for the common good delivers public services to all citizens. The rich and common interest. Citizens today do not do not run politics. accept to be the cannon fodder for the wars launched by ambitious politicians. Good governance On the other hand, in some other high-income is nothing less nor more than political leaders countries, the happiness ranking is far lower. acting for the average citizen and pursuing the Wealth may be high, but the wealth is common good. accompanied by an excessive inequality of income, wealth, and political power. Trust, as a The Global Dialogue for Happiness at the World result, is often reduced by high inequalities of Government Summit enables governments from income. In unequal societies, public services around the world to discuss and compare best tend to be of highly varying quality, often practices to put happiness at the top of the excellent in rich neighborhoods, and inadequate policy agenda. Whether governments will follow in poor neighborhoods. The public does not through in promoting happiness is a matter of Global Happiness Policy Report 2018 trust its political class. Violence is often rampant War and Peace in highly unequal societies. War is the greatest enemy of happiness. It leads How can the 193 member states of the UN to destruction and destitution, a sundering of choose happiness over conflict, the common social ties, the suffering and deaths of children, good over the narrow interest? The work of the and a public health calamity. Promoting happi- Global Happiness Council, a new global network ness therefore must begin with promoting peace. of leading academic specialists in happiness and For that, we should put our efforts into global leading practitioners in areas such as psychology, diplomacy over unilateral actions by individual economics, and urban planning, will be to identify governments. The greatest threats to the peace best practices at the national and local level, and come when major governments take matters into most promising diplomatic initiatives at the their own hands, sometimes despite the strenuous international level, to promote the cause of objections of the UN Security Council. happiness. I am deeply honored and grateful to The UN Charter is the most important document direct this new Council. for global happiness. Keeping the peace is This volume contains papers by expert working indeed the essential mission and purpose of the groups on happiness in six important contexts: UN. When the major powers (the Permanent Five education,