Should happiness be the purpose of policy-making?
Featuring Lord Richard Layard, Professor Nattavudh Powdthavee and Dr Gay Meeks
Happiness has been a topic of philosophical debate since Ancient Greece, but has more recently attracted the attention of behavioural and social scientists. As the volume of research on happiness increases, emphasis is being placed on how to measure it and what relationship it has to national wealth and social policy.
The Cambridge Society for Economic Pluralism is proud to host Lord Richard Layard, Professor Nattavudh Powdthavee, and Dr Gay Meeks to discuss whether economic policy can or should be directed to increase the happiness of the population, rather than their wealth.
Lord Richard Layard is founder-director of the LSE Centre for Economic Performance, a large research centre covering most areas of economic policy, and has been a life peer in the House of Lords since 2000. Lord Layard is Emeritus Professor of Economics at the LSE and is author of the book ‘Happiness’ as well as co-author, with Professor David Clark, of the book ‘Thrive: The power of evidence-based psychological therapies’.
Professor Nattavudh (Nick) Powdthavee holds a joint position as a Professorial Research Fellow at the Melbourne Institute of Applied Economics and Social Research, University of Melbourne, and a Principal Research Fellow in the Well-Being research programme at the Centre for Economic Performance at the LSE. He is the author of the popular economics book, ‘The Happiness Equation: The Surprising Economics of Our Most Valuable Asset’.
Dr Gay Meeks is a Senior Research Associate at the University of Cambridge whose research interests lie in Philosophy and Economics, including debates about happiness, justice, equality, capabilities and freedom. Dr Meeks is the author of ‘Thoughtful Economic Man: Essays on Rationality, Moral Rules and Benevolence’.
The Cambridge Society for Economic Pluralism is proud to host Lord Richard Layard, Professor Nattavudh Powdthavee, and Dr Gay Meeks to discuss whether economic policy can or should be directed to increase the happiness of the population, rather than their wealth.
Lord Richard Layard is founder-director of the LSE Centre for Economic Performance, a large research centre covering most areas of economic policy, and has been a life peer in the House of Lords since 2000. Lord Layard is Emeritus Professor of Economics at the LSE and is author of the book ‘Happiness’ as well as co-author, with Professor David Clark, of the book ‘Thrive: The power of evidence-based psychological therapies’.
Professor Nattavudh (Nick) Powdthavee holds a joint position as a Professorial Research Fellow at the Melbourne Institute of Applied Economics and Social Research, University of Melbourne, and a Principal Research Fellow in the Well-Being research programme at the Centre for Economic Performance at the LSE. He is the author of the popular economics book, ‘The Happiness Equation: The Surprising Economics of Our Most Valuable Asset’.
Dr Gay Meeks is a Senior Research Associate at the University of Cambridge whose research interests lie in Philosophy and Economics, including debates about happiness, justice, equality, capabilities and freedom. Dr Meeks is the author of ‘Thoughtful Economic Man: Essays on Rationality, Moral Rules and Benevolence’.
