1. Correlation between happiness and some concrete factors. GRA 5917: Public Opinion and Input Politics Term Paper Proposal Rémi Poncet

2. Purpose To create an index reflecting the degree of happiness in countries, based on concrete / quantitative factors.

3. Are the “best countries to live in” indexes related to the degree of happiness? And if not, how to improve them? Question

4. What are the different existing indexes on the “best countries to live in?” -Newsweek index = 0.2 (education) + 0.2 (health) + 0.2 (quality of life) + 0.2 (economic dynamism)+ 0.2 (political environment) -International Living index = 0.15 (cost of living) + 0.1 (culture & leisure) +0.15 (economy) + 0.1 (environment) +0.1 (freedom) + 0.1 (health) + 0.1 (infrastructure) + 0.1 (safety & risks) + 0.1 (climate) -Reader’s Digest index = 0.5 (HDI index) + 0.5 (ESI index)

5. International Living ranking 1Finland 2Switzerland 3Sweden 4Australia 5Luxembourg 6Norway 7Canada 8Netherlands 9Japan 10Denmark 11U.S. 12Germany 13New Zealand 14U.K. 15South Korea Newsweek ranking 1Finland 2Iceland 3Norway 4Sweden 5Austria 6Switzerland 7Ireland 8Australia 9Uruguay 10Denmark 11Canada 12Japan 13Israel 14Italy 15Slovenia 1 France 2 Australia 3 Switzerland 4 Germany 5 New Zealand 6 Luxembourg 7 U.S. 8 Belgium 9 Canada 10 Italy 11 Netherlands 12 Norway 13 Austria 14 Liechtenstein 15 Malta Reader’s Digest ranking What are their results?

6. 1Porto-Rico 2Mexico 3Denmark 4Colombia 5Ireland 6Iceland 7N. Ireland 8Switzerland 9Netherlands 10Canada 11Austria 12El Salvador 13Venezuela 14Luxembourg 15U.S. Happiest countries Dr Inglehart International Living 1Finland 2Switzerland 3Sweden 4Australia 5Luxembourg 6Norway 7Canada 8Netherlands 9Japan 10Denmark 11U.S. 12Germany 13New Zealand 14U.K. 15South Korea Newsweek 1Finland 2Iceland 3Norway 4Sweden 5Austria 6Switzerland 7Ireland 8Australia 9Uruguay 10Denmark 11Canada 12Japan 13Israel 14Italy 15Slovenia 1 France 2 Australia 3 Switzerland 4 Germany 5 New Zealand 6 Luxembourg 7 U.S. 8 Belgium 9 Canada 10 Italy 11 Netherlands 12 Norway 13 Austria 14 Liechtenstein 15 Malta Reader’s Digest No strong correlation with happiness

7. Which factors can be determinant?  “Happiness does not depend on quality of life”. Prof Ruut Veenhoven (1990)  “Society’s level of democracy largely reflects its level of happiness”. Dr Inglehart (2006)  Duration of day vs. night? Studies have proved that happiness is related with day vs. night duration.  Level of study? The more you study, the high expectation from life you have, and the less you’re satisfied and happy.

8. How to create a new index?  Ponderate all the factors regarding to the degree of correlation with happiness.

9. Data  WVS database  HDI database  ESI database  U.S. State Department’s Index of Overseas Living Costs  Freedom in the World: The Annual Survey of Political Rights and Civil Liberties