The Thirst for Happiness

This paper provides a primer on happiness economics. The survey intends to indicate the general flavor of this new approach to economics. Moreover, it presents a selection of possible applications of economic-happiness research. The fundamental idea of relative utility is discussed by illustrating it with a particular case, namely the relationship between income and happiness. Happiness research is also a new tool for studying individual welfare in the context of a cost-benefit analysis. It allows researchers to capture the good and bad effects on the public. This is shown by the example of a major social issue, terrorism. The intention is to convey to the reader that happiness research opens new avenues to tackle old questions and opens new possibilities to address issues that have been difficult or even impossible to address empirically.