Happiness and the Law

Happiness and the law the two concepts seem to have little to do with one another. To some people, they may even seem diametrically opposed. Yet, one of the things that laws strive to do is improve the quality of people s lives. John Bronsteen and his coauthors draw on new research on happiness from psychology, economics, and neuroscience to understand the law s effects on peoplewhether they make them happy or unhappyand how good the law is at predicting these effects. Happiness research has shown that people can adapt to some things but not to others; that people often err in predicting what will make them happy; and that money affects most people s happiness less than is assumed. Using such insights, the authors consider the effects of legal policies and regulations, criminal punishments, and civil lawsuits on how people experience their lives. The results are exciting and often counterintuitive. The findings of hedonic psychology indicate, for example, a need to rethink our current understandings of imprisonment and monetary fines. Most broadly, the book proposes a comprehensive approach to human welfare to assess the good and bad consequences of laws and policies. This approach, well-being analysis, is far superior to the strictly economically based cost-benefit analyses which currently dominate how we evaluate public policy. The study of happiness is the next step in the evolution from traditional economic analysis of the law to a behavioral approach. "Happiness and the Law" will serve as the definitive, yet accessible, guide to understanding this new paradigm."