Chapter 16a society in a similar way, but that differ between societies.
These are public goods, and we can study their effects only
by comparing societies.
One source of evidence is the differences in well- being
between countries.^13 These have been regularly explored by
John Helliwell in the World Happiness Report. Each year this
report measures the average happiness of every country by
the so- called Cantril ladder, where people are asked “Please
imagine a ladder, with steps numbered from 0 at the bottom
to 10 at the top. The top of the ladder represents the best
possible life for you and the bottom of the ladder represents
the worst possible life for you. On which step of the ladder
would you say you personally feel you stand at this time?”
This “life- evaluation” variable has been found to have very
similar properties to life- satisfaction. The top country gen-
erally is Denmark, with a score of around 7.5. The lowest
include Syria (3.4) and the Central African Republic (2.7).^14
This huge international variation in average happiness
can be largely explained by six variables reflecting the in-
come, health, and ethos of the country in question. These
variables are
- Trust. Proportion saying Yes to “Do you think most
other people can be trusted?” - Generosity. Proportion saying Yes to “Have you do-
nated money to a charity in the past month?” - Social support. Proportion saying Yes to ”If you were
in trouble, do you have relatives or friends you can
count on to help whenever you need them?” - Freedom. Proportion saying Yes to “Are you satisfied
with your freedom to choose what to do with your
life?”