Abstract
Cross-national studies on happiness have revealed large differences, not only is average happiness higher in rich nations than in poor ones, but there are also sizable differences in happiness among rich nations. For instance, the Finns are happier than the French, while GDP per capita is similar in France and Finland. In this paper we discuss whether freedom can explain that difference. The Finns feel more free than the French do. Does this discrepancy in perceived freedom correspond to a difference in actual freedom? Following Bay, we distinguished three kinds of actual freedom: social freedom, potential freedom and psychological freedom. In a comparative analysis of 49 nations we find that actual freedom reflects only partially in perceived freedom and that all kinds of freedom have some independent relation with average happiness. Psychological freedom is most strongly related to happiness in rich nations. The Finns are happier than the French because they dare more to be free.
Highlights
Comparative research on happiness shows, typically, that people live happiest in the richest nations of this world
Actual freedom Below we present the available indicators for the three kinds of actual freedom in nations and check whether the conceptual distinction is reflected in the data
Happiness and actual freedom All correlations between happiness and freedom in Table 6 are positive, which means that freedom and happiness tend to go hand in hand
Summary
Comparative research on happiness shows, typically, that people live happiest in the richest nations of this world. This pattern was already visible in the first cross national in 1960 by Cantril (1965) and has been replicated over and again on ever larger numbers of nations. Average happiness differs across rich nations Happiness increases significantly with GDP in the first part of the graph, where the poor nations are situated, and reach a plateau around 18,000 dollars per capita In these nations, sufficient individuals have a purchasing power high enough for economic affluence to have little influence on happiness; this represents 49 nations a. We see large differences in happiness among countries with the same purchasing power, e.g. more than two points between Hong Kong and Denmark, one point and a half between France and Finland
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