Sign up for our daily briefing
Make your busy days simpler with Axios AM/PM. Catch up on what's new and why it matters in just 5 minutes.
Stay on top of the latest market trends
Subscribe to Axios Markets for the latest market trends and economic insights. Sign up for free.
Sports news worthy of your time
Binge on the stats and stories that drive the sports world with Axios Sports. Sign up for free.
Tech news worthy of your time
Get our smart take on technology from the Valley and D.C. with Axios Login. Sign up for free.
Get the inside stories
Get an insider's guide to the new White House with Axios Sneak Peek. Sign up for free.
Catch up on coronavirus stories and special reports, curated by Mike Allen everyday
Catch up on coronavirus stories and special reports, curated by Mike Allen everyday
Want a daily digest of the top Denver news?
Get a daily digest of the most important stories affecting your hometown with Axios Denver
Want a daily digest of the top Des Moines news?
Get a daily digest of the most important stories affecting your hometown with Axios Des Moines
Want a daily digest of the top Twin Cities news?
Get a daily digest of the most important stories affecting your hometown with Axios Twin Cities
Want a daily digest of the top Tampa Bay news?
Get a daily digest of the most important stories affecting your hometown with Axios Tampa Bay
Want a daily digest of the top Charlotte news?
Get a daily digest of the most important stories affecting your hometown with Axios Charlotte
Illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios
DAVOS, Switzerland — At the head table Victor Pinchuk, a Ukrainian oligarch and the evening's host, was surrounded by dignitaries and leading experts on a controversial science: measuring happiness.
- Up for debate was whether governments should seek to make their citizens happy, and whether they could satisfactorily measure their success in doing so.
Axios listened intently from a corner table, accompanied by a delightful Italian red:
- First up was Dan Gilbert, a psychologist from Harvard, who said of course you can trust people to tell you whether they're happy — indeed, the most basic human interactions depend on it.
- Next came Robert Shiller, a Yale economist and the evening's skeptic. He said happiness oscillates based on temporary circumstances, and joked he'd be happier upon the arrival of desert (pistachio ice cream with mango sorbet).
- Anders Fogh Rasmussen, a former Danish prime minister, reflected on why his people are so happy: social mobility, environmental conservation, national culture, good governance.
- Aleksander Kwaśniewski, a former Polish president, warned as "the only one in this room who was a member of the Communist Party" that happiness as ideology can be dangerous.
- Jan-Emmanuel De Neve of Oxford noted that several leaders have recently set happiness as their objective —nearly all of them women.
The bottom line: Perhaps it was the wine, but I stepped out into the Alpine air convinced that in Davoses to come, there will be less about GDP and more about happiness.