Event Summary
In spite of the challenges posed by poverty and high levels of inequality in Latin America, studies show its people are generally happy and continue to support market reforms and democracy. Yet, in the midst of the global financial crisis, will this trend shift in Latin America?
Event Information
When
Wednesday, January 21, 2009
11:00 AM to 12:30 PM
Where
Saul/Zilkha Rooms
The Brookings Institution
1775 Massachusetts Ave., NW
Washington, DC
Map
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On January 21, the Latin America Initiative at Brookings hosted a discussion on the current trends in the region in terms of economic growth, inflation, unemployment and the financial crisis, based on the most recent evaluations from a new approach in economics: the economics of happiness. The discussion featured Carol Graham, senior fellow and Charles W. Robinson Chair in Foreign Policy; Eduardo Lora, chief economist at the Inter-American Development Bank; and Inder J. Ruprah, senior economist at the Inter-American Development Bank. Senior Fellow Mauricio Cárdenas, director of the Latin America Initiative, provided introductory remarks and moderated the discussion.
Transcript
CAROL GRAHAM: What does happiness economics do that other approaches don't? . . . Unlike standard economic approaches, it actually listens to what people say. Standard economics basically focuses on what people do, what they choose to do via consumption choices, and that's how you gauge their welfare . . . And because of that, it captures broader elements of welfare than just do income data alone . . . And in particular I think happiness economics is particularly well-suited to answer questions where revealed presences don't tell us very much -- in other words, when people don't make conscious rational choices that reflect their best welfare, their optimal welfare decisions . . . if you think about Latin America the very poor don’t have a lot of choice . . . and their lack of choice does not necessarily reflect conscious decisions to maximize welfare, but it may be that they’re just unable to make choices and they're unable to make choices because of norms or because of low expectations or just because they don't have the agency. So, there are a lot of areas that we can get at the welfare of different groups looking at what they express via survey data that they are not able to express through choices.
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