Edward Elgar Publishing Happiness and Social Policy in Europe

Happiness is currently a central focus for research in the social sciences. Using data from the European Social Survey the researchers analyse the relation between happiness and social policy across Europe. The expert contributors demonstrate that research on happiness can inform welfare choices and policies and help promote job creation, social inclusion and to some degree, a higher level of equality. They highlight that whilst differences do exist amongst the countries studied, social policy has a role in increasing happiness throughout Europe. The interdisciplinary approach and geographical coverage greatly enhance our understanding of this critical relationship between happiness and social outcomes. Happiness and Social Policy in Europe uniquely embraces the relationship between happiness, social policy and welfare state analysis. This enlightening work will strongly appeal to postgraduate students of social policy, sociology, economics and psychology. Researchers with an interest in comparative analysis, welfare states and happiness will also find this book invaluable. Review ‘Bent Greve takes us on an informative and intriguing intellectual journey across nine European countries that widely differ in cultural factors, institutional settings and government spending composition. . . The book is thus most suitable for policymakers and academics who are interested in a new discipline that fruitfully combines economics, psychology and sociology.’ -- Pierpaolo Perna, LSE Review of Books About the Author Edited by Bent Greve, Professor in Social Science, Department of Society and Business, Roskilde University, Denmark