Working Paper by Orsolya Lelkes Presentation by Alison Pietenpol "Minimising Misery: A New Strategy for Public Policies Instead of Maximizing Happiness?" Working Paper by Orsolya Lelkes Presentation by Alison Pietenpol

Dr. Orsolya Lelkes Researcher at the European Centre for Social Welfare Policy and Research PhD in Social Policy Research interests: "Poverty and social inclusion, social connections, beyond GDP: non-monetary indicators of social progress, happiness and good life for all"

Methodology European Social Survey Data 29 countries with 57,000 individuals surveyed (all over 15 years old) ESS measured both life satisfaction and happiness. The paper used life satisfaction as its key variable "All things considered, how satisfied are you with your life as a whole nowadays?" Answered on a scale of 0-10 The answer to this question was compared to the respondee's demographics (ie disability, socioeconomic status, education, etc.) The researchers defined two groups Those with satisfaction 0-3 were "very dissatisfied" Those with satisfaction of 10 were "very satisfied" There is a skew towards the satisfied side of the spectrum which  is why "very satisfied" only encompasses one answer

Results Those who identified as disabled, unemployed, poor, ethnic minorities or socially isolated were 6-18% more likely to report dissatisfaction The top income quintile was not more likely to be very satisfied than the average, but they were less likely to be dissatisfied A sort of diminishing return There is not as distinguishable a pattern between low education and satisfaction Separation, divorce, and widowhood create a higher chance of severe dissatisfaction Health problems are associated with a higher probability of dissatisfaction and lower probability of satisfaction

Conclusions of the paper "High income and high education do not seem to offer a highway to heaven, but may protect from misery." Through the ESS data set, Lelkes found that observable personal characteristics are higher correlated to dissatisfaction than to satisfaction The data for income and disability show that income and disability have a greater affect on dissatisfaction than satisfaction Because the forces that cause happiness and satisfaction is more varied than the forces that cause people to be miserable, public policy would be more effective if it aimed to lessen misery instead of increasing happiness Policy aimed at assisting mental health and disabilities would like increase the satisfaction 

Evaluation/Future Research There could be an issue in this study because it is based on a survey of people from all over Europe. This means they speak different languages and have differing cultural beliefs about happiness and success. This could cause the results to be skewed Further research could be done to examine the effect of treating mental health on the productivity of work force and self-view

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