러시아ㆍ유라시아

There is burgeoning literature on well-being around the world, much of which finds consistent patterns in its determinants in countries and cultures around the world. Many of these patterns are predictable: Income matters to individual well-being, but after a certain point other things such as the incomes of others also start to matter. Health is essential to well-being, and stable partnerships, stable marriages and social relationships also play a role. Women are typically happier than men, except in contexts where their rights are severely
 compromised. And because these patterns are so consistent across diverse countries and cultures, scholars in the field can control for these factors and explore the well-being effects of phenomena that vary more, such as inflation and unemployment rates, crime and corruption, smoking, drinking, exercising, and the nature of public goods, among others. There is also nascent literature on the causal properties of well-being, which finds that happier people are, for the most part, healthier and more productive.