Unhappiness and Pain in Modern America:  A Review Essay, and Further Evidence, on Carol Graham's Happiness for All?

Citation

Blanchflower D & Oswald A (2017) Unhappiness and Pain in Modern America:  A Review Essay, and Further Evidence, on Carol Graham's Happiness for All?. US National Bureau of Economic Research. https://www.nber.org/papers/w24087

Abstract
In Happiness for All?, Carol Graham raises disquieting ideas about today’s United States. The challenge she puts forward is an important one. Here we review the intellectual case and offer additional evidence. We conclude broadly on the author’s side. Strikingly, Americans appear to be in greater pain than citizens of other countries, and most sub-groups of citizens have downwardly trended happiness levels. There is, however, one bright side to an otherwise dark story. The happiness of black Americans has risen strongly since the 1970s. It is now almost equal to that of white Americans.

Notes
Copyright Statement: © 2017 by David G. Blanchflower and Andrew Oswald. All rights reserved. Short sections of text,not to exceed two paragraphs, may be quoted without explicit permission provided that full credit,including © notice, is given to the source.