Happiness for All?: Unequal Hopes and Lives in Pursuit of the American Dream

Awards:   Short-listed for Project Syndicate's Best Reads in 2017 (chosen by Kermal Dervis) 2017
Author:   Carol Graham
Publisher:   Princeton University Press
ISBN:  

9780691169460


Pages:   208
Publication Date:   28 March 2017
Format:   Hardback
Availability:   Temporarily unavailable   Availability explained
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Happiness for All?: Unequal Hopes and Lives in Pursuit of the American Dream


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Awards

  • Short-listed for Project Syndicate's Best Reads in 2017 (chosen by Kermal Dervis) 2017

Overview

How the optimism gap between rich and poor is creating an increasingly divided society The Declaration of Independence states that all people are endowed with certain unalienable rights, and that among these is the pursuit of happiness. But is happiness available equally to everyone in America today? How about elsewhere in the world? Carol Graham draws on cutting-edge research linking income inequality with well-being to show how the widening prosperity gap has led to rising inequality in people's beliefs, hopes, and aspirations. For the United States and other developed countries, the high costs of being poor are most evident not in material deprivation but rather in stress, insecurity, and lack of hope. The result is an optimism gap between rich and poor that, if left unchecked, could lead to an increasingly divided society. Graham reveals how people who do not believe in their own futures are unlikely to invest in them, and how the consequences can range from job instability and poor education to greater mortality rates, failed marriages, and higher rates of incarceration.She describes how the optimism gap is reflected in the very words people use--the wealthy use words that reflect knowledge acquisition and healthy behaviors, while the words of the poor reflect desperation, short-term outlooks, and patchwork solutions. She also explains why the least optimistic people in America are poor whites, not poor blacks or Hispanics. Happiness for All? highlights the importance of well-being measures in identifying and monitoring trends in life satisfaction and optimism--and misery and despair--and demonstrates how hope and happiness can lead to improved economic outcomes.

Full Product Details

Author:   Carol Graham
Publisher:   Princeton University Press
Imprint:   Princeton University Press
Dimensions:   Width: 15.20cm , Height: 2.30cm , Length: 23.50cm
Weight:   0.482kg
ISBN:  

9780691169460


ISBN 10:   0691169462
Pages:   208
Publication Date:   28 March 2017
Audience:   College/higher education ,  Professional and scholarly ,  Tertiary & Higher Education ,  Professional & Vocational
Format:   Hardback
Publisher's Status:   Active
Availability:   Temporarily unavailable   Availability explained
The supplier advises that this item is temporarily unavailable. It will be ordered for you and placed on backorder. Once it does come back in stock, we will ship it out to you.
Language:   English

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Reviews

A persuasive and well-supported study. Highly recommended. --Karen Shook, Times Higher Education


Carol Graham . . . makes a convincing case that perceptions of well-being, including factors like stress and a sense of the value of one's life, have become far more negative for poorer Americans since 2007. --Jeff Madrick, The New York Review of Books Graham pushes the wellbeing date into a more fruitful area, to assess how the experience of inequality shapes the views Americans hold about the future and the value of hard work. . . . She pierces the myth that inequality is accepted in the US because it is accompanied by so many success stories. --Geoff Dyer, Financial Times Graham is one of the few scholars who have traced the effects of a dramatic increase in inequality between the rich and poor in America. --Ana Swanson, WashingtonPost.com's Wonkblog A persuasive and well-supported study. Highly recommended. --Karen Shook, Times Higher Education


A persuasive and well-supported study. Highly recommended. --Karen Shook, Times Higher Education Graham is one of the few scholars who have traced the effects of a dramatic increase in inequality between the rich and poor in America. --Ana Swanson, WashingtonPost.com's Wonkblog


Author Information

Carol Graham is the Leo Pasvolsky Senior Fellow at the Brookings Institution and College Park Professor at the University of Maryland's School of Public Policy. Her books include The Pursuit of Happiness: An Economy of Well-Being and Happiness around the World: The Paradox of Happy Peasants and Miserable Millionaires.

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