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Get Four
|  | JANUARY 27, 2005
By Jack Ewing Are the Wealthy Really Happier? The WEF in Davos may be an exclusive confab for the world's elite, but sometimes it tackles issues that border on the subversive Case in point: A dinner on the issue "Why Rich Countries Can't Buy Happiness." After all, one of the aims of the annual meeting of the World Economic Forum is to figure out ways to make nations richer. And a lot of affluent people attend, including the wealthiest person on the planet, Microsoft (MSFT ) Chairman Bill Gates. Aren't they happy? Maybe not. Numerous studies suggest that gross domestic product growth and happiness don't necessarily move in tandem. The U.S., the world's richest country, isn't a much happier place than it was in the 1950s, according to some research. HAZARDOUS GROWTH. In his book entitled Happiness, Lord Richard Layard, professor of economics at the London School of Economics & Political Science, says economic growth can have negative consequences that may cancel out the gains. As many Americans can attest, a fast-growing economy can also bring stress, dislocation, and damaged relationships. Layard even argues that high taxes can be good in rich societies because they discourage people from working too much and encourage them instead to (presumably) spend more time with their families. "Do we really want people to work harder when the main source of happiness is relationships?" he asked at a dinner in a Davos hotel. Some theorists say wealth is relative, and if everybody gets richer, no one feels good about it. But filthy-rich investment bankers need not despair. Robert J. Shiller, a professor of economics at Yale University, says such arguments are "not quite right." Wealth brings undeniable gains in the quality of life -— better health care and longer life expectancy spring to mind. The problem simply is wealth doesn't necessarily do many things, such as help you find a mate or a job that's satisfying as well as remunerative. "We have gotten wealthier, but we have made mistakes," Schiller said as his mostly affluent listeners ate risotto. THE JOY OF SOCCER. The really tough question is how to define what societies should do to make their people happier, especially when it's hard to define what happiness is. Haji-Ioannou Stelios, chairman of Britian-based easyGroup, founder of airline easyJet and other companies using the easy brand, said he has never seen Greek citizens happier than when the national soccer team won the European championship last year and after Athens successfully hosted the summer Olympics. That kind of happiness doesn't seem to have a lot to do with wealth. At the same time, Stelios conceded that his employees seem happier when their stock options are going up. Alas, participants at the dinner weren't able to find the key to happiness by the time the dessert dishes were cleared. But as the session was breaking up, African pop star Youssou N'Dour, one of the speakers, took the microphone and delivered an a cappella rendition of a song in his native Senegalese that he said was about happiness. That at least made everyone feel better.  Ewing is BusinessWeek's Frankfurt bureau chief Get BusinessWeek directly on your desktop with our RSS feeds.  Add BusinessWeek news to your Web site with our headline feed. Click to buy an e-print or reprint of a BusinessWeek or BusinessWeek Online story or video. To subscribe online to BusinessWeek magazine, please click here. Learn more, go to the BusinessWeekOnline home page  | | |
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