Paradoxes of Happiness in Economics

Since the Industrial Revolution of the eighteenth century, the Western economies have experienced unprecedented and persistent growth of national income. But empirical surveys that have been carried out consistently reveal that people have not become happier at the same rate. The connections between national income and happiness have become weaker and weaker over time. The author suggests that the Classical approach to economics can offer a wider theoretical framework for the investigation of many topics concerning human behavior and thus also of happiness.