Leveraging an Unhappiness Lens for Smarter Policies
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 16554170 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Marine Coupaud (0000-0001-6621-5563, ESSCA School of Management Bordeaux France), Gilles Grolleau (0000-0003-2932-8870, ESSCA School of Management Lyon France), Naoufel Mzoughi (0000-0002-8153-4615, INRAE, ECODEVELOPPEMENT Avignon France) |
| Year | 2026 |
| Publication date | 2026-04-09 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Policy Studies Journal (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0190-292X • E-ISSN: 1541-0072 |
| Publisher | Wiley (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1111/psj.70123 |
| OpenAlex | W7152632324 |
| Language | EN |
| References cited | 53 |
Traditional policy research has largely focused on enhancing happiness or well‐being, privileging positive outcomes as the primary metric of success. We argue that a systematic focus on the drivers of unhappiness—rather than solely on happiness—offers a complementary analytical framework that can uncover hidden societal deficits and broaden the repertoire of policy interventions. By foregrounding unhappiness, scholars and practitioners can identify latent demand, structural inequities, and unintended negative side effects that are often obscured in happiness‐centric analyses. We first articulate why a shift away from predominantly happiness‐driven policies is conceptually necessary, demonstrating that unhappiness signals distinct causal pathways and policy levers. Second, we explain how adopting an unhappiness lens can lead to different—and potentially better—policy outcomes. By integrating unhappiness into the policy toolkit, this paper expands the analytical horizon of scholars and offers policymakers actionable insights for more resilient, equitable, and responsive governance. We introduce several novel theoretical issues that provide a strong foundation for a research agenda on unhappiness and its policy implications. We also caution that misusing unhappiness‐based arguments poses ethical risks and could exacerbate the very problems such arguments aim to address
Foregrounding · Foundation (evidence · Happiness · Policy learning · Through-the-lens metering · Unintended consequences · Psychological Well-being and Life Satisfaction · Regional resilience and development · Resilience and Mental Health
Positional Externalities Cause Large and Preventable Welfare Losses
Interpreting scores on the Kessler Psychological Distress Scale (K10)
Is more always better?
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The Theory of Moral Sentiments
What Can Economists Learn from Happiness Research?
Will raising the incomes of all increase the happiness of all?
Driving Public Support
From economic wealth to well-being
Backward‐oriented economics
Satisfaction and comparison income
Development and validation of brief measures of positive and negative affect
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Does a culture of happiness increase rumination over failure
If happiness is relative, against whom do we compare ourselves? Implications for labour supply
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Income and Happiness
Inequality, macroeconomic performance and political polarization
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Anomalies
What drives unhappiness? A cross-country analysis
The Capture Theory of Regulations-Revisited
The Presenter's Paradox
Minimising Misery
Income Satisfaction and Relative Deprivation
Multiple discrepancies theory (MDT)
Is happiness relative
| Citation velocity | historical |
|---|---|
| Highly cited | No |