, Columnist
Americans Have Found Their Happy Place
The US has its troubles, but a new study suggests that most of the happiest states in the world are in America.
Happiness comes in waves.
Photographer: Kent Nishimura/Getty Images North AmericaThis article is for subscribers only.
How happy are Americans, really? This country has its troubles, surely, but a new study suggests things may be better than they seem.
Two economists, David G. Blanchflower of Dartmouth and Alex Bryson of University College London, have come up with a new and more intuitive way to measure well-being. The results are striking. If you consider US states as comparable to countries, 16 of the top 20 political units in the world for well-being are in the US — including the top seven.