Development, Freedom, and Rising Happiness: A Global Perspective (1981–2007)

@article{Inglehart2008DevelopmentFA,
  title={Development, Freedom, and Rising Happiness: A Global Perspective (1981–2007)},
  author={Ronald F. Inglehart and Roberto Stefan Foa and Christopher Peterson and Christian Welzel},
  journal={Perspectives on Psychological Science},
  year={2008},
  volume={3},
  pages={264 - 285}
}
Until recently, it was widely held that happiness fluctuates around set points, so that neither individuals nor societies can lastingly increase their happiness. Even though recent research showed that some individuals move enduringly above or below their set points, this does not refute the idea that the happiness levels of entire societies remain fixed. Our article, however, challenges this idea: Data from representative national surveys carried out from 1981 to 2007 show that happiness rose… 
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