A recent study of political democracy has produced remarkable results. Bruno Frey has compared happiness in those Swiss cantons with the most frequent referenda with happiness in those Swiss cantons with the least frequent referenda. The resulting difference in happiness is roughly equal to the effect of a doubling of income. This has obvious implications for the rebirth of local democracy...

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We tell people that they are selfish and it is not surprising that they become more so. Robert Frank asked students at Cornell whether they would report it if they were undercharged for a purchase, and whether they would return a lost addressed envelope which contained $100. They were asked in September and again in December after one term's work. Students who took introductory economics became less honest, while astronomy students became more honest, and the difference was significant.

From Richard Layard's Lionel Robbins Memorial Lectures 2002/3

This fellow is the subject of tomorrow (Sunday) morning's Background Briefing at 9:00 am on Radio National. Now that happiness can be reliably measured it should supercede such indicators as GDP as a barometer for measuring how well a society is doing. If you're interested in democracy his work can't be ignored. The show is repeated Tuesday at 7:10 pm.