Richard Layard, a follower of a welfarist and hedonistic approach, shows that the level of happiness felt is relative (the perception that I have of my own income depends on the income of others), adaptive (the happiness of a person is not only temporarily affected by an increase in income) and depends on our culture. He conceives of happiness "as a definite biological state" and believes in the possibility of freeing laws of happiness.

Related publications

Happiness: Lessons from a New Science, Richard Layard, Penguin 2011 (2^nd Edition) https://www.penguin.co.uk/books/54928/happiness/

Read more... The Conversation (blog)