This book presents original happiness research from and about a region that shows unexpectedly high levels of happiness. Even when Latin American countries cannot be classified as high-income countries their population do enjoy, on average, high happiness levels. The book draws attention to some important factors that contribute to the happiness of people, such as: relational values, human relations, solidarity networks, the role of the family, and the availability and gratifying using of leisure time. In a world where happiness is acquiring greater relevance as a final social and personal aim both the academic community and the social-actors and policy-makers community would benefit from Happiness Research in Latin America.

Presents original research about happiness from a happy region Follows a multidisciplinary approach to the understanding of happiness Shows that happiness is acquiring greater relevance as a final social aim Presents evidence-based research that leads to policy-oriented conclusions

Autorentext
Mariano Rojas is Professor of Economics at Facultad Latinoamericana de Ciencias Sociales, Sede México and at Universidad Popular Autónoma del Estado de Puebla. He got his undergraduate degree in economics from Universidad de Costa Rica and his M.A. and Ph.D degrees in economics from The Ohio State University, United States. His areas of research are: Happiness, Subjective Well-Being, Quality of Life, Economic Development, and Applied Microeconomics. He has been a member of ISQOLS since 2000, and performed as vice-president of finance from 2007 to 2008 and as vice-president of external affairs from 2011 to 2012. In 2009 he was awarded ISQOLS' Research Fellow Award as well as JOHS' Outstanding Reviewer Award. Mariano Rojas coordinates the Mexican Initiative Measuring the Progress of Societies: A Perspective from Mexico. This initiative received the Best New Initiative Award by OECD Global Project on Measuring the Progress of Societies in 2009 at the Busan, Korea 3rd World Forum.

Inhalt
Chapter 1. Happiness, Research, and Latin America; Mariano Rojas.- Part I. The Relevance of Latin American Happiness.- Chapter 2. The Singularity of Latin American Patterns of Happiness; Pablo Beytía.- Chapter 3. The Social Psychology of Latin American Happiness; Jorge Yamamoto.- Chapter 4. The Relevance of Happiness: Choosing Between Development Paths in Latin America; Mariano Rojas.- Chapter 5. Trends and Challenges for the Research of Happiness in Latin America; Emilio Moyano Díaz.- Part II. Human Relations and Happiness in Latin America.- Chapter 6. The Importance of Relational Goods for Happiness: Evidence from Manizales, Colombia; Liliana Velásquez.- Chapter 7. Like the zompopito: Social Relationships in Happiness among Rural and Indigenous Women in Nicaragua; Jéssica Martínez Cruz and Haydeé Castillo Flores.- Chapter 8. Aging, Family Relations and Well-Being in Chile; María Soledad Herrera Ponce, María Beatriz Fernández, and Carmen Barros.- Chapter 9. Happiness and Social Capital: Evidence from Latin American Countries; Francisco Mochón Morcillo and Rebeca De Juan Díaz.- Chapter 10.From the Individual to the Romantic Relationship: In Search of Happiness; Rozzana Sánchez Aragón and Ricardo Diaz Loving.- Chapter 11. The Role of Relational Goods in the Relationship Between Illnesses and Satisfaction in Latin America; Mariano Rojas and Maikol Elizondo-Lara.- Part III. Material Conditions and Happiness in Latin America.- Chapter 12. How the Economy Affects Happiness. Empirical Findings from Argentina; Dardo Ferrer and Victoria Giarrizo.- Chapter 13. Relative Income and Job Satisfaction in Chile; Rodrigo Montero and Tomás Rau.- Chapter 14. Food-Deprivation and Subjective Well-Being in Latin America; Jorge Guardiola and Mariano Rojas.- Chapter 15. Threats to Happiness: How Lower Middle Class Households Deal with Insecurity and Precariousness; Daniel Vera, Christian Suter, and Monica Budowski.- Chapter 16. Income, Sex, Pills and Relationships: An Empirical Study for Argentina; Pablo Schiaffino and Martín Tetaz.- Chapter 17. Using Life Satisfaction Data to Identify Urban Problems, Prioritize Local Public Expenditures and Monitor the Quality of Urban Life; Eduardo Lora.- Part IV. Social Factors and Happiness in Latin America.- Chapter 18. Sociopolitical Dimensions of Subjective Well-Being: The Case of Two Mexican Cities; René Millán.- Chapter 19. Does Migration Cause Unhappiness or Does Unhappiness Cause Migration? Some Initial Evidence from Latin America; Carol Graham.- Chapter 20. Disparities in Subjective Well-Being by Socioeconomic Status in Colombia; David Hurtado.- Chapter 21. Individual and Social Dimensions of Subjective Well-Being: Evidence across Latin American Countries; Victoria Ateca Amestoy, Teresa García Muñoz, and Ana Moro Egido.- Chapter 22. Psychological and Social Determinants of Subjective Well-Being in Mexico: Poverty, Class Identification and Social Mobility; Joaquina Palomar Lever and Amparo Victorio Estrada.- Chapter 23. Happiness Inequality in Latin America and The Caribbean; Nestor Gandelman.- Chapter 24. Does the Chilean Pension Model Influence Life Satisfaction? A Multilevel Longitudinal Analysis; Esteban Calvo.- Chapter 25. Does Values Education Make a Difference on Well-Being? A Case Study of Primary Education in Chiapas; Paola Cubas Barragán.- Chapter 26. Happiness and Quality of Life in Mexico: Geographical Considerations; José de Jesús García Vega.- Part V. Health and Happiness in Latin America.- Chapter 27. The Determinants of Mental Health: Empirical Evidence from Chile; Ramón Florenzano and Francisca Dussaillant.- Chapter 28. Pain, Emotions, and Social-Well-Being in Mexico; Benjamín Domínguez-Trejo, Gerardo Montero Ruvalcaba Palacios and María López Lena.- Chapter 29. The Impact of Economic Growth on the Prevalence of Health Problems in Latin America; Maikol Elizondo-Lara and Mariano Rojas.- Part VI. The Importance of Subjective Well-Being Indicators.- Chapter 30. The Distance Between Perception and Reality in the Social Domains of Life; Eduardo Lora.- Chapter 31. A Perceived Human Development Index; Marcelo Neri.- Chapter 32. Life Satisfaction and Happiness in Mexico: Correlates and Redundancies; Gerardo Leyva, Alfredo Bustos Ana Miriam Romo.- Chapter 33. The Usefulness of Subjective Well-Being to Predict Electoral Results in Latin America; Iván Martínez.