Important Economists

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Economists that Focus on Happiness in Economics

Jeremy Bentham

Jeremy Bentham (1748-1832) was an English philosopher, jurist, and political theorist who was most well known for his concept of utilitarianism. He was a lawyer in the bar who never practiced, but rather Bentham came upon this theory because he dedicated his time to analyzing morals and legislation. Bentham believed in a free-market approach, and according to the Columbia Encyclopedia Bentham, “predated Keynes in his advocacy of expansionist monetary policies to achieve full employment and advocated a range of interventions, including the minimum wage and guaranteed employment.”

Although the majority of his work was in ethics, his most lasting contributions were to economics and how his utilitarian principles applied to it. According to about.com utilitarianism can be defined as, “operating on the principle that the utility (happiness or satisfaction) of different people can not only be measured but also meaningfully summed over people and that utility comparisons between people are meaningful.” Bentham was best known for his statement concerning utilitarianism: “It is the greatest happiness of the greatest number that is the measure of right and wrong.” This lasting statement has been the basis of current happiness research because through his studies Bentham devised both quantitative and qualitative ways to measure happiness. He was a forerunner of happiness research through his lists of the sources of pleasure and pain, the use of the term “well-being,” and his subjective assessment of his research. He also suggested certain thoughts on happiness that “neo-Benthamites” and other economists work on solving today.

Notable Quotes about Bentham:

"In the eighteenth century Bentham and others proposed that the object of public policy should be to maximize the sum of happiness in society. So economics evolved as the study of utility, or happiness, which was assumed to be in principle measurable and comparable across people." "Bentham also believed that happiness matters because it is what people want. Indeed he argued that in the end all actions are driven by the desire to feel good." (Layard, 1st Lecture)

Richard Easterlin

"First economist to make prominant use of Happiness data" (from first website below)

article,Some uses of Happiness Data in Economics

Bruno Frey

Robert H. Frank