Happiness and the law /

In this book Jeremy Bentham's objective analysis of human welfare is supplemented with the findings of hedonic psychologists and used to critique the methodology propounded by Richard Posner. One prominent target of their critique is the cost-benefit analysis now widely used to evaluate policy effectiveness. The authors make the case that their data sets and methodology for measuring human happiness represent a "better proxy for quality of life than money" and call on policy makers to expand funding for their research and either replace or at least supplement the findings of cost-benefit analyses with their "well-being analysis." The struggle between psychologists and economists for control of policy making is well underway. But in at least one important way Happiness and the Law is unlike works such as Nudge (CH, Oct'08, 46-0977) and Predictably Irrational (CH, Oct'08, 46-0969). While Cass Sunstein, Richard Thaler, and Dan Ariely sought to combine the insights of psychology and economics and make the case for the new field of behavioral economics, Bronsteen et al. make a more pronounced distinction between their methods and those of the economists. It is unlikely that this work will persuade policy makers to replace cost-benefit analysis with hedonic methods. Summing Up: Recommended. Researchers. --David P. Ramsey, University of West Florida