2-part Series airs Thursday, June 20 & Friday, June 21
Scientists at the University of California, Berkeley have made an unexpected discovery: Americans are surprisingly unhappy. PBS NEWSHOUR Business & Economics Correspondent Paul Solman explored that finding in a new sub-field of Economics called Happiness Studies when he visited UC Berkeley’s Greater Good Science Center.
Economists often expect to see a correlation between a nation’s economic growth and its people’s happiness. As wealth rises, subjective well-being tends to go up, too. However, for the last 35 years, studies have shown that Americans are surprisingly unhappy even though the country has gotten richer.
Paul Solman’s 2-part series focuses on the connections between wealth and happiness — and on the findings of the Berkeley scientists. His stories air on PBS NEWSHOUR, Thursday, June 20, 2013 and Friday, June 21, 2013 (check local listings.)
Thursday, June 20 Happiness: Solman examines its link to compassion. Scientists at Berkeley found that wealthy subjects feel less compassion than lower income people.
Friday, June 21 Psychology of Wealth: Solman explores how money affects behavior … even when it’s not real money.