幸福是一種選擇

1、幸福是一種選擇：關于幸福的12個有趣真相Everyth ing You Need To Know About Happ in ess In The World關于幸福的一切Un employme ntcan cause as much un happ in ess as bereaveme nt or separati onaccord ing to the World Happ in ess Report, published by Columbia Uni versitys Earth Institute and co-edited by Nobel laureateJeffrey Sac

2、hs.哥倫比亞大學地球研究所和諾貝爾獎獲得者杰佛里薩克斯日前共同發(fā)布了世界幸福報告。 根據(jù)報告顯示，失業(yè)造成的痛苦與喪失親友或是分居程度相當。The report found that the happiest coun tries in the world are all in Norther n Europewith Denmark topp ing the list.報告發(fā)現(xiàn)，世界上最幸福的國家都在北歐，其中丹麥位居第一。Mea nwhile the least happy coun tries are in the poor regio ns of sub-Sahara n Afric

3、a.同時，最不幸福的國家位于撒哈拉以南非洲的貧窮地區(qū)。聯(lián)合國首發(fā)全球幸福指數(shù)報告丹麥居首中國排112位The report looks at how happ in ess is measured and exam ines some of its policyimplications.We read through the groundbreakingreport and pulled the mostin teresti ng findings about happ in ess.該報告著眼于幸福的測量方式，并測試了一些幸福感的含義。我們通讀了這份開創(chuàng)性的報告， 并摘錄出其中關于幸福最有意

4、思的發(fā)現(xiàn)。The happiest coun tries in the world are all in Norther n Europe世界上最幸福的國家都在北歐The happiest coun tries in the world n amelyDenm ark,Norway, Finland, andNetherla nds are all in Norther n Europe. Their average life evaluati on score is 7.6 on a scale from 0 to 10.世界上最幸福的國家有丹麥、挪威、芬蘭和荷蘭，這些都是北歐國家。在0-1

5、0分范圍內(nèi)，這些國家的平均生活評估得分是7.6分。The least happy countries are all poor countries in Sub-Saharan Africa最不幸福的國家都是位于撒哈拉以南非洲的貧窮國家The least happy countries are all poor countries in Sub-Saharan Africa namelyTogo, Benin,Cen tralAfrica n Republic, and Sierra Leone with average lifeevaluati on scores of 3.4.最不幸福的國

6、家都是位于撒哈拉以南非洲的貧窮國家，包括多哥（西非國家）、貝寧、中非共和國和塞拉利昂，平均生活評估得分僅有3.4分。But happ in ess is measured by more tha n mon ey.Communi ty,religi on,andhealth play big roles但是，幸福并不單單用金錢衡量，生活社區(qū)、宗教和健康狀況也非常重要The keyexter nalfactors that determ ine happ in essin cludein come,work,com mun ity and gover nance, and values and

7、religi on.決定幸福的關鍵外在因素包括：收入、工作、社區(qū)和管理、價值觀和宗教信仰。The pers onal features that determ inehapp in essin cludemen talhealth, physicalhealth, family experienee, education, and gender and age.決定幸福的個人特質包括：心理健康、生理健康、家庭經(jīng)歷、教育、性別和年齡。Sometime there is a two-way in teract ion betwee n the determ inant and happ in es

8、sitself. For in sta nee health affects happ in ess and con versely happ in ess affects health.有時候，這些決定因素和幸福本身之間存在著一種雙向互動。比如說健康會影響幸福感，那么反過來，幸福也讓你變得更健康。Of course, In come is always a factor in expla ining happ in ess, but it isnt the mostimporta nt thing當然，收入總是說明幸福與否的一個因素，但它不是最重要的指標In 1974 Richard Eas

9、terlin wrote a seminal article which found that richer peopleare on average happier than poorer people (a cross-sectionalfact) but thatover time withindiffere ntsocietiesthe populati on does noton averagebecome happierwhe n theycoun trysin come rises(a time-series fact). Thiscame to be known as the

10、Easterl in paradox.1974年，理查德伊斯特林寫了一篇很有創(chuàng)意的文章，他發(fā)現(xiàn)富人通常比窮人幸福些(代 表性事實)，但是在不同的社會，隨著時間流逝，當國家的收入提高時人們并不會隨之感到 更加幸福(時間序列事實)。這個就是我們熟知的伊斯特林悖論。In come is not the most importa nt factor in determ ining happ in ess.收入不是決定幸福最重要的因素。Relative in come i.e. in come relative to others of the same age, sex, educati on ist

11、he only one that matters whe n it comes to happ in ess. Absolute in come is not that importa nt.相對性收入，也就是相對于同年齡、同性別、同教育水平的其他人的收入，這個才影響幸福。絕對收入并不重要。Un employme nt causes as much un happ in ess as separati on or bereaveme nt失業(yè)造成的痛苦與分居或喪失親友程度相當People experienee a sharp drop in well-beingwhenthey are une

12、mployed.Un employme nt causes as much un happ in ess as bereaveme nt or separati on.當人們丟了工作時，他們遭受著幸福感的急劇跌落。失業(yè)造成的痛苦與喪失親友或分居程度 相當。High un employme ntimpacts the happ in essnot just on the families of theun employed but also those in work who feel less secure in their jobs.居高不下的失業(yè)率不僅僅影響失業(yè)家庭的幸福感，同樣也影響著那

13、些仍在崗位上但卻對工作缺乏安全感的人們。The quality of work is extremely importa nt to happ in ess. Resp ondents from OECD coun tries were asked to rank eight differe nt job characteristics on a five point scale from not at all important to very important. Only 20 percent of respondents from OECD coun tries said a high

14、 in come is very importa nt, 60 perce nt said job security is very importa nt, while 50 perce nt said in terest work is very importa nt.工作質量對于幸福的影響也極其重要。來自經(jīng)濟合作及發(fā)展組織國家的調查對象， 要求他們在5分范圍內(nèi)從不重要到非常重要排出 8個不同的影響幸福的工作特征，僅有20%的人認為高收入非常重要，60%的人認為工作安全非常重要，而 50%的人認為工作興趣最重要。Trust, freedom, equality and social in t

15、eract ions in crease happ in ess信任、自由、平等和社交互動能夠提升幸福感In dividual happ in ess comes from a set of social in teract ions, and trust plays a huge role. In a well-functioning society there is a high level of trust between citizens and between institutions.個人的快樂幸福來自于一系列的社交互動，在這其中信任起著重要作用。在一個運行良好的社會中，公民與制度

16、之間存在著一個很高程度的信任。Bonding capital i.e. people who are similar to one ano ther and bridgi ng capitali.e. people who are differe nt impacts life satisfact ion and happ in ess. We wantboth - not only good social capital with incom mun itiesbut also good linksbetwee n com mun ities.社會資本指的是很相似的一群人，而橋梁資本則指的是

17、生活滿意度和幸福感影響程度不同的 人們?！拔覀儍烧叨枷胍粌H是需要團體內(nèi)部的社會資本，也需要社會團體間良好的鏈接?！盕reedom is a key comp onent to happ in ess.自由是幸福的關鍵因素。Equality plays a huge role in happ in ess because greater equality is associated with reduced social tensions, especially whe n the in equality is see n as un fair. Also, the value of ext

18、ra in come is greater for the rich tha n the poor.在幸福感的影響因素中，平等也非常重要，因為較大程度的平等意味著社會緊張感的減少，特別是在不平等會等同于不公平的狀態(tài)下。同樣，額外收入對于富人的價值要比其對窮人的價值大。In countries where life is harder, those who are more religious report more positive emoti ons在那些生活艱辛、人們宗教信仰更虔誠的國家，人們的正面情緒更多About 68 perce nt of adults across the wor

19、ld say that religi on is importa nt in their daily lives. Religious belief and practice is more com mon in coun tries where life is harder. In the U.S. religious is belief is higher in states where life is harder.全世界68%的人認為在他們的生活中宗教信仰很重要。在生活艱辛的國家中，宗教信仰和 行為非常普遍。在美國生活艱辛的地區(qū)，宗教信仰程度也較高。While there is no

20、differenee in life satisfaction between more and less religious countries, in countries where life is harder there is significantly morepositiveemoti on and less n egative emoti on among those who are more religious.雖然談及生活滿意度，宗教信仰多的國家和宗教信仰少的國家并沒有多大差別，但在那些生活艱辛的國家里，更加虔誠的人們會散發(fā)更多的積極情緒和更少的消極情緒。Values, ce

21、rta in behaviors and the en viro nment play importa nt roles in happ in ess在幸福感中，價值觀、特定行為舉止和環(huán)境也很重要Many values taught by religi onare rein forcedby society throughmore secular systems. Altruism and kindn ess have show n happ in ess in both the giver and the receiver.在許多宗教中灌輸?shù)膬r值觀都被社會通過更加長期的制度體系加強完善了。利

22、他主義和行善樂施的價值觀會讓贈與者和接受者都感覺幸福。Most ethical systems also teach that material wealth should not be pursued beyond the point where it compromises other values. At a given level of in come, people who cared more about their in come were less happy with life overall.大多數(shù)道德體系都會教導我們：追尋物質財富時，不能以犧牲其他價值觀為代價。在某一特定

23、收入水平上，更加在乎其收入的人們總體生活幸福感要少一些。All other things equal, watching television is also associated with lower happ in ess. This is because its reduces social life and in creases exposure to viole nee. But televisi on can provide enjoyme nt and in structio n.其他所有因素重要程度相當，看電視會讓人有較低的幸福感， 這是因為看電視減少了社交生 活，但增加了觀看

24、暴力場面的機會。但是電視同時讓人很享受，也有指導意義。The en viro nmentalso plays a crucial part in happ in ess. Gree n spaces are associated with better health, performa nee and life satisfacti on.環(huán)境在影響幸福感中也至關重要。綠色的空間通常暗示著較好的身體狀況、出色的表現(xiàn)和滿意的生活。Men tai and physical health both have huge impacts on happ in ess心理和生理健康都非常影響一個人幸福感H

25、app in ess depe nds crucially on pers on ality, and pers on ality is stron gly affected byyour gen etic make-up. One importa nt way in which in genes operate is through men tal health.“幸福感極其依賴于性格，而性格又受遺傳基因性格影響頗深?！毙睦斫】凳菍崿F(xiàn)基因運轉 最重要的一種方式。Those who are men tallyill as adolesce ntsare more likely to exper

26、ie neelowearnin gs, un employme nt, crim inal records, tee nage preg nan cy, physical ill ness and poor educati onal performa nee tha n others in the populati on.那些在少年時候就有精神疾病的人更容易遭受低收入、失業(yè)、犯罪記錄、少年媽媽、生理疾病和糟糕教育表現(xiàn)等境遇。Panel data allows comparisons of the life-satisfaction of the same individuals before

27、and after they become disabled. The impact effect of severe disability is estimated as being 0.6 points on the one to seven life satisfaction scale, and that of moderate disability as 0.4 poin ts.研究中的固定樣本數(shù)據(jù)可以將同一個人在殘疾前后對生活的滿意度進行對比。嚴重殘疾的影響作用對生活滿意度有著非常大的影響：在0-7分范圍的中只得到 0.6分，中度殘疾為0.4分。Adaptati on to dis

28、ability also impacts life-satisfact ion, and some one who has bee ndisabled for all of the past three years is less affected tha n some one who is recen tly disabled.對于殘疾的適應力也影響著生活滿意度，殘疾有 3年的人比剛剛遭遇殘疾的人所受到影響 要小。Having childre n is no guara ntee of happ in ess有孩子并不能確保幸福Being married rather than single

29、, divorced or widowed is strongly associatedwith higher self-declaredhapp in ess.In most coun triesmarried people arehappier with their life tha n those who cohabit with a partner.結婚的人比單身、離異或者喪偶能感受到更多的自我幸福感。在大多數(shù)國家，已婚人士比那些未婚同居的人們生活幸福感更強烈。Studies have shown that individuals who are already happier whe

30、n they are young have a higher probability of becomingand remaining married. And getti ng married also boosts happ in ess if only for some years. But leisure andsocial activities of ones spouse can reduce life satisfaction in the other spouse.研究顯示，一個年輕時就比較幸福的人走進婚姻殿堂和保持美滿婚姻的可能性較大。結婚會增加幸福感，哪怕只是幾年的婚姻生活

31、。但是一方配偶的閑暇和社會活動卻會減少另一方的 生活滿意度。Life satisfaction is said to peak in the years before and after marriage. For thosewho n ever get divorced, happ in ess is perma nen tly higher tha n before they were married.生活滿意度在婚前和婚后會達到一個頂峰。對于那些從未離婚的夫妻來說，幸福感永遠高于他們結婚前。Moreover havi ng childre n is no guara ntee of hi

32、gher happ in ess.此外，有孩子并不能確保更高的幸福感。Educati onin directly affectshapp in essthrough higher in come and betterhealthcare教育因為可以帶來更高的收入和更好的醫(yī)療保健，從而直接影響幸福感Educati on is in directly related to happ in ess because it in creases in come and in comein creaseshapp in ess.Lon ger years ofeducati onare associate

33、d within creased employability and job security.教育與幸福感直接相關聯(lián)，因為教育會提高收入，而收入又會提高幸福感。較長的受教育年 限能增加就業(yè)能力，保障職業(yè)安全感。The direct effect of educati on on happ in ess is mixed and varies betwee n coun tries.在不同的國家，教育對于幸福感的直接作用也不同。In most developed coun tries wome n are happier tha n men在大多數(shù)發(fā)達國家，女人比男人幸福In mostadva

34、 needcoun tries,wome n report higher lifesatisfacti onandhapp in ess tha n men. But the results are smaller or reversed in non-i ndustrial coun tries.在大多數(shù)發(fā)達國家，女人比男人擁有更高的生活滿意度和幸福感。但是，在非工業(yè)國家這個結論差距會縮小甚至顛倒過來。Women are happier in countries where gender rights are equal.在性別權利平等的國家里女性更幸福。Everyth ing You Ne

35、ed To Know About Happ in ess In The WorldUn employme ntcan cause as much un happ in essas bereaveme nt orseparation ,accord ing to the WorldHapp in essReport, published by ColumbiaUni versitysEarth In stitute and co-edited by Nobel laureateJeffrey Sachs.The report found that the happiest coun tries

36、in the world are all in Norther n Europewith Denmark topp ing the list.Mea nwhile the least happy coun tries are in the poor regio ns of sub-Sahara n Africa.The report looks at how happ in ess is measured and exam ines some of its policyimplications. We read through the groundbreakingreport and pull

37、edthemostin terest ing findings about happ in ess.andThe happiest coun tries in the world are all in Norther n EuropeThe happiest coun tries in the world n amely Denm ark, Norway, Fi nla nd,Netherla nds are all in Norther n Europe. Their average life evaluati on score is 7.6 on a scale from 0 to 10.

38、The least happy countries are all poor countries in Sub-Saharan AfricaThe least happy countries are all poor countries in Sub-Saharan Africa namelyTogo, Benin,Cen tralAfrica nRepublic, and SierraLeone with averagelifeevaluati on scores of 3.4.But happ in essis measuredby more than money.Com mun ity,

39、religio n,andhealth play big rolesThe keyexter nalfactorsthat determ ine happ in essin cludein come,work,com mun ity and gover nance, and values and religio n.The pers onalfeatures that determ inehapp in essin cludementalhealth,physicalhealth, family experienee, education, and gender and age.Sometim

40、e there is a two-way in teract ion betwee n the determ inant and happ in ess itself. For in sta nee health affects happ in ess and con versely happ in ess affects health.Of course, In come is always a factor in expla ining happ in ess, but it isnt the most importa nt thingIn 1974 Richard Easterlin w

41、rote a seminal article which found that richer people came to be known as the Easterl in paradox.are on average happier than poorerpeople (a cross-sectionalfact)but thatover time within differe nt societiesthe populati ondoes not onaveragebecome happier whe n they coun trysin comerises (a time-serie

42、s fact). ThisIn come is not the most importa nt factor in determ ining happ in ess.Relative in come i.e. in come relative to others of the same age, sex, educati on is the on ly one that matters whe n it comes to happ in ess. Absolute in come is not that importa nt.Un employme nt causes as much un h

43、app in ess as separati on or bereaveme ntPeople experieneea sharp drop in well-beingwhenthey are unemployed.Un employme nt causes as much un happ in ess as bereaveme nt or separati on.High un employme nt impacts the happ in ess not just on the families of the un employed but also those in work who f

44、eel less secure in their jobs.The quality of work is extremely importa nt to happ in ess. Resp ondents from OECD coun tries were asked to rank eight differe nt job characteristics on a five point scale from not at all important to very important. Only 20 percent of respondents from OECD coun tries s

45、aid a high in come is very importa nt, 60 perce nt said job security is very importa nt, while 50 perce nt said in terest work is very importa nt.Trust, freedom, equality and social in teract ions in crease happ in essIn dividual happ in ess comes from a set of social in teract ions, and trust plays

46、 a huge role. In a well-functioning society there is a high level of trust between citizens and between institutions.Bonding capital i.e. people who are similar to one ano ther and bridgi ng capital i.e. people who are differe nt impacts life satisfact ion and happ in ess. We want both - not only go

47、od social capital with in com mun ities but also good links betwee n com mun ities.Freedom is a key comp onent to happ in ess.Equality plays a huge role in happ in ess because greater equality is associated with reduced social tensions, especially whe n the in equality is see n as un fair. Also, the

48、 value of extra in come is greater for the rich tha n the poor.In countries where life is harder, those who are morereligious report morepositive emoti onsAbout 68 perce nt of adults across the world say that religi on is importa nt in their daily lives. Religious belief and practice is more com mon

49、 in coun tries where life is harder. In the U.S. religious is belief is higher in states where life is harder.While there is no differenee in life satisfaction between more and less religious countries, in countries where life is harder there is significantly morepositiveemoti on and less n egative

50、emoti on among those who are more religious.Values, certa in behaviors and the en viro nment play importa nt roles in happ in essMany values taught by religi on are rein forcedby society throughmore secular systems. Altruism and kindn ess have show n happ in ess in both the giver and the receiver.Mo

51、st ethical systems also teach that material wealth should not be pursued beyond the point where it compromises other values. At a givenlevel of in come, people who cared more about their in come were less happy with life overall.All other things equal, watching television is also associated with low

52、er happ in ess. This is because its reduces social life and in creases exposure to viole nee. But televisi on can provide enjoyme nt and in structio n.The en viro nmentalso plays a crucial part in happ in ess.Gree nspaces areassociated with better health, performa nee and life satisfacti on.Men tal

53、and physical health both have huge impacts on happ in essHapp in ess depe nds crucially on pers on ality, and pers on ality is stron gly affected byyour gen etic make-up. One importa nt way in which in genes operate is through men tal health.Those who are men tallyill as adolesce ntsare more likely to experie neelowearnin gs, un employme nt, crim inal records, tee nage preg nan cy, physical ill ness and poor educati onal performa nee tha n others in the populati on.Panel data allows comparisonsof the life-satisfactionof the same individualsbefore and after they become disabled.