This book honors the work of Ruut Veenhoven, who has been a pioneer and leader in the field of happiness studies for the past 50 years. It brings together experts in the field discussing Veenhoven's work as well as taking up themes from his workshops over the years to analyze how and where the field has expanded following his research. Veenhoven's contributions include developing theories and measuring instruments, creating the world's first and largest database of happiness research, founding the world's first and most frequently cited Journal of Happiness Studies, and student development in and popularization of the field of happiness studies. He has extensive publications through the International Sociological Association and the International Society for Quality of Life Studies, and the research field of happiness studies would not have become as broad today without his enormous contributions. Friends and former students of Veenhoven provide both academic and anecdotal discussions in this festschrift, which is important for anyone interested in the development of happiness research.

Autorentext
Alex C. Michalos is the founding editor of the journal Social Indicators Research and edited it for 40 years. He is also the series editor of the Social Indicators Research Book Series, which has 79 volumes, the series editor of the Asian Quality of Life Book Series, the founding editor of the Journal of Business Ethics, co-founder of the Journal of Happiness Studies, Applied Research on Quality of Life, Asian Journal of Business Ethics, and editor of the Encyclopedia of Quality of Life and Well-Being Research. He has authored 23 books and edited or coedited 8 books.

Inhalt

Ruut Veenhoven's Livability Concept and Children's Happiness Around the Globe (Sergiu Baltatescu).- Pursuing Happiness on the Road Less Traveled (Ad Bergsma).- Have the Dutch Become Happier? And What about the Dutch 'Happiness Professor', Ruut Veenhoven? (Jeroen Boelhouwer).-  The Forgotten Dimensions of Social Capital: Evidence from Quality of Life Studies (Gael Brulé).-   Urban-Rural Happiness Differentials in the Netherlands (Martijn Burger).- Happiness or Life Satisfaction? The Case of Children (Ferran Casas and Mònica González).- Ruut Veenhoven: Worthy Recipient of the Golden Triangle of Happiness (Robert A. Cummins).- Our Fearless Leader (Edward F. Diener).- Your Happiness Comrade-in-Arms (Richard A. Easterlin).- Il Maestro of Happiness (Richard J. Estes).- On the Scientific Study of Happiness (Carol Graham).- The Social Democratic Agenda: The Impact of Scandinavian Social Democratic Regimes on Income Equality, Economic Security, Gender Equality, Levels and Inequality of Life Satisfaction (Bruce W. Headey and Ruud Muffels).- Organizations with Virtuous Leaders Flourish More (Martijn Hendriks).- Moving Beyond the GDP: Emerging Measures and Findings (Mohsen Joshanloo).- Zest and Adventures in Happiness Research (Anna Lau).- Ruut Veenhoven: A very Wise Man (Kai Ludwigs).- Unhappiness, Life-Dissatisfaction and Economic Deprivation in the Philippines: Three Decades of Survey History (Mahar Mangahas).- Good Societies, Financial Inequality and Secrecy, and a Good Life: From Aristotle To Piketty (Alex C. Michalos).- Hambakahle, 'Go Well', from Africa (Valerie Møller).- The Good Life Under Attack Reflections on the Future of  the Quality of Life Concept (Heinz-Herbert Noll).- Contentment and Affect in the Assessment of Life Satisfaction: More Empirical Findings and New Questions (Mariano Rojas).- A Happiness Path Taken Together (Peggy Schyns).- What Makes Chinese People Happy? Insights from a Traditional Chinese Essay and a Hong Kong Cantopop (Daniel T.L. Shek).- Calling for Social Support: Whose Support and What Types of Support Matter for Early Adolescents' Life Satisfaction (Kimberly G. Sitter, E. Scott Huebner, and Kimberly J. Hills).- The Relation Between Happiness and Public Policies: The Opinion of University Students (Graciela Tonon).- Prospective Well-Being, Relative Income and Tolerance of Inequality in Japan (Ming-Chang Tsai).- A Passion for Happiness: Ruut Veenhoven, Eudaimonia and the Good Life (Joarvitterso).- Wellbeing and the Four Qualities of Life (Dan Weijers).- Ruut Veenhoven and the Latin-American Paradox of Happiness (Eduardo Wills-Herrera).- A Critique of the Conventional Methods of Survey Item Transformations, with an Eye to Quantification (Bruno D. Zumbo and Pamela Woitschach).- Photographs to Remember (Alex C. Michalos).