News & Events
This page documents media and blog coverage of my research as well as my presentations, interviews, new publications and working papers and any other relevant notable events (September 2015 onwards).
Please see impact for more media/press reactions to my work and publications for a full list of my working papers and published work.
This months World Wellbeing Panel questions are on gender and wellbeing, the Panel's answers (including my own) can be found here: WWP Survey and my own past answers are here: Daniel Sgroi's WWP page.
March 2018
- Presentation: The Effect of Positive Mood on Cooperation in the Repeated Prisoners' Dilemma, Royal Economic Society Annual Conference 2018, University of Sussex.
- The answers to last month's World Wellbeing Panel survey have been posted online. The questions concern gender and wellbeing and the panel's answers can be found here: WWP survey. Here are my responses:
- Question 1: Do you agree that on balance, clear and distinct gender roles (whatever they are) decrease the average wellbeing of the population?
- Response: Agree. I am not aware of a huge amount of work in this area, but recent research by Heather Brown and Jennifer Roberts at Sheffield based on data from the British Household Panel Survey may provide some relevant guidance. For example, if women earn more than their husbands but still do more housework (perhaps because of the pressure on them to also act as homemakers) their wellbeing suffers. Similarly, males who see themselves as breadwinners have lower wellbeing when their wives earn more than they do. This suggests that gender biases based on traditional roles are persistent and damaging to wellbeing, especially in the face of welcome increases in equality in the workplace.
- Question 2: Do you agree that an active policy that discourages any particular gender role narrative is likely to increase the average wellbeing of the population?
- Response: Agree. Following on from my earlier answer, while there is not an overwhelming amount of research in this area (which suggests that we need more), what there is does seem consistent with common sense: it appears that gender role stereotyping puts pressure on both males and females and policy designed to overcome this is likely to help wellbeing.
February 2018
- I have become a member of the World Wellbeing Panel: a panel of some of the biggest names in subjective wellbeing in the world. The panel is based at LSE and each month addresses questions relating to wellbeing chosen from a list provided by journalists, policy-makers and academics.
- Media: Managers: Avoid a 'Jekyll and Hyde' Relationship with Employees, Dice
January 2018
- Working paper: When Good Advice is Ignored: The Role of Envy and Stubbornness (with David Ronayne) published in the CAGE, CRETA, Warwick Economics and Nuffield College working paper series.
- Media: Five Surprising Ways to Increase Employee Satisfaction, Capterra.
- Media: More Happy, More Productive, Business Lounge Journal.
December 2017
- Media: The weekly roundup of events "on the national scene" in the Jersey Evening Post includes a discussion of my work (with Thomas Hill and Eugenio Proto) on historical happiness.
- Media: Was 1957 Really So Great? Shropshire Star.
November 2017
- Working paper: The Effect of Positive Mood on Cooperation in Repeated Interaction (with Eugenio Proto and Mahnaz Nazneen) published in the CAGE, Warwick Economics and IZA working paper series.
- Interviewed on BBC Radio Scotland on the topic of historical happiness.
- Media: The Best Year of All, Glossop Chronicle.
- Media: Sunday Memories, Liverpool Echo.
- Media: Happy Year of Jiving, Juke Boxes and Teddy Boys, Nottingham Post.
- Media: The Best Year of All, Oldham Reporter.
September 2017
- Media: Why Happiness at Work is So Important, Peak Conflict Solutions.
August 2017
- Publication: On the motivations for the Dual-Use of Electronic and Traditional Cigarettes (with David Ronayne) published in Applied Economics Letters.
- Working paper: On the Motivations for the Dual-Use of Electronic and Traditional Cigarettes (with David Ronayne) published in the Oxford Economics Working Paper Series.
July 2017
- The LSE Business Review features a blog entry written by me entitled Measuring Happiness across the Ages.
- American Economic Association RCT registry entry for Understanding the Motivation of Organ Donors in the Iranian Organ Market, with Ali Kelishomi Moghaddasi. Two year field study launched this month.
- I have become an Associate Member of Nuffield College at the University of Oxford.
June 2017
- American Economic Association RCT registry entry for When Good Advice is Ignored: The Role of Adviser Remuneration, with David Ronayne.
May 2017
- Presentation: Cooperation and Positive Mood in the Repeated Prisoners’ Dilemma, School of Economics, University of East Anglia.
- Presentation: Historical Analysis of National Subjective Wellbeing using Millions of Digitized Books, Wellbeing Seminar, Centre for Economic Policy Research, London School of Economics.
April 2017
- Short documentary on Youtube entitled The Science of Happiness references my work with Andrew Oswald and Eugenio Proto on happiness and productivity.
- Publication: Biased Beliefs and Imperfect Information published in the Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization (volume 136, pages 186-202, with Eugenio Proto).
March 2017
- The ESRC website features a written by me about measuring happiness entitled How happy are we? Measuring happiness through the ages.
February 2017
- Plenary speaker (talking on the topic of historical wellbeing) at the ONS (Office of National Statistics) annual RAS conference, Newport, Wales. Here are my slides.
- Panel member and speaker at the CAGE policy launch on Understanding Happiness at the University of Warwick. YouTube video here.
- Interviewed on Talk Radio Europe by Giles Brown on The Daily programme.
- Interviewed on BBC Radio Wiltshire.
- Media: Britain was at its happiest in 1957, Epoch Times.
- Media: Ninteen Fifties Heaven, The War Cry.
- Media: Is Elon Musk the World's Best Boss? The Daily Mail.
- Interviewed on BBC Radio Wiltshire.
- Interviewed on Talk Radio Europe by Giles Brown on The Daily programme.
January 2017
- Policy launch: Joint CAGE/SMF Understanding Happiness policy document released.
- Lanch event for the Understanding Happiness policy report at the British Academy in London, some slides.
- Press release on the Understanding Happiness policy launch.
- Interviewed on BBC Radio Five Live.
- Intervewed on talkRADIO.
- Interviewed on Radio Scotland.
- Interiewed on BBC Radio West Midlands.
- Interviewed on BBC Radio Coventry & Warwickshire. More details on the CAGE page.
- Interviewed on BBC Radio Hereford & Worcester.
- Interviewed by The Daily Mail, and reported as Britain's Happiest Year.
- Media: We've Never Had it so Good, The Times.
- Media: 1957 was the Happiest Year, Daily Express.
- Media: Back to the Future, The Guardian.
- Media: 1957 Declared as Britain's Happiest Year, Eastern Daily.
- Interviewed by the Telegraph, and reported as Harold Macmillan was Right.
- Media: 1957 was the Happiest Year in the Twentieth Century, WB News.
- Media: Happiness in Britain Peaked in 1957, Metro.
- Media: 1957 Really Was the Happiest Year Ever, Scottish Daily Mail.
- Media: Love, Marriage...1957 Truely Was a Diamond Year, Scottish Daily Mail (print version).
- Media: A Word in Favour of Books, Northern Echo.
- Media: Warwick Research Shows 1957 was the Happiest Year in Britain, The Tab.
- Media: 1957 was Britain's Happiest Year in the Last Century, Red.
- Media: 1957 was the Happiest Year of the last Century, Nederlands Dagblad (in Dutch).
- Media: 1957 Happiest Year of the Twentieth Century, LocalGov.
- Media: Victorians were Happier than we are Today, The Week.
- Blog coverage: Happiness in Britain Peaked in 1957, Ooyuz.
- Media: Why 1957 was Britain's Happiest Year, Mogaz News.
- Blog coverage: Britain Never Happier than 1957, Acken Blog.
- Media: Britain has never been Happier than it was in 1957, YahooNews.
- Media: 1957 was the Happiest Year of the Twentieth Century, Report UK.
- Media: That Was the Year That Was, Norwich Evening News.
November 2016
- Presentation: Historical Analysis of National Subjective Wellbeing using Millions of Digitized Books, Centre for Experimental Social Science, Nuffield College, University of Oxford.
October 2016
- Media: Work Happy, The City Magazine.
- Media: Google's mantra to keep employees happy and productive, The Economic Times.
- Blog coverage: Why work culture directly impacts empoyee productivity, [Engage] The Employee Engagement Blog.
- Blog coverage: 7 reasons why fun in the office is the future of work, CIPHR All About People.
- Blog coverage: Tricks for a happier day at work, CareerBuilder.
- I have started my sabbatical and will be based at the Centre for Experimental Social Science, Nuffield College in the University of Oxford for the 2016/17 academic year.
September 2016
- The Economics Department at Warwick produced a piece summarizing my historical happiness research entitled Two centuries of data reveal that health not wealth has always been the key to wellbeing.
- Media: Happiness myth of the swinging sixties, PressReader.com.
- Blog coverage: Proven productivity boosters based on research, B2C (Business 2 Community).
- Blog coverage: Being happy at work improves productivity, Grid Work.
August 2016
- Interviewed on BBC Radio 4 (the PM programme) and on BBC Radio Wales about historical happiness levels. You can hear me talk about happiness from 51:40 to 57:20 on the PM programme (24/08/16) here or via a direct link to the mini-documentary on happiness here.
- Interviewed by the The Daily Mail on measuring happiness over time, reported as Forget the age of plenty, we were happier in the 1700s!
- Media: Happier in the era of workhouses, The Sun.
- Interviewed by John Bingham, Social Affairs Editor of the Telegraph newspaper on the topic of twentieth century hapiness in the UK, resulting in the online piece in The Telegraph How the Sexual Revolution and Money in the Pocket didn't make Britain Happy and the print version in The Daily Telegraph Not so Swinging Sixties: proof that sex and money doesn’t make us happy.
- Media: You've never had it so good, BT.com.
- Media: Forget the age of plenty, Mogaznews En.
- Presentation: Historical Analysis of Wellbeing at the European Economic Association Conference in Geneva.
- Blog coverage: Improve Productivity by Investing in your Employees, Aepiphanni.com
- Blog coverage: Recognizing Passion Means Creating Happiness, Indopositive (in Indonesian).
- Blog coverage: Raj at Work, Harvard Business Review Polska (in Polish).
- Blog coverage: Happiness Makes us More Productive...and vice versa, Life in the Balance (www.wholehealth.today)
- Blog coverage: Why, beyond Middle Age, People get Happier as they get Older, Dem Alter begegnen
July 2016
- Media: Creating A Happier Workforce for Higher Productivity in Afghanistan, Daily Outlook Afghanistan.
- Blog coverage: How to Nurture: 7 Key Elements of Employee Engagement, CIPHR Blog
- Blog coverage: Employee Productivity, Happiness and Success, HR.com.
- Blog coverage: Happy Employees are 12% more Productive at Work, Fastcompany.com.
- Media: How CEOs Can Help Improve Productivity by Keeping Employees Happy, Chief Executive Magazine.
- Media: Creating a happier workforce for higher productivity in Myanmar, The Global New Light of Myanmar.
- Blog coverage: Employee Productivity, Happiness and Success, Survale
June 2016
- Awarded the overall Teaching Excellence Award and special recognition in the Student Experience Award in the annual Senior Managment Team prize-giving in the Economics Department at Warwick.
- Media: Happier Workers Could be more Productive, Shanghai Daily.
- Media: Unhappy Workers Produce Less, Business Day.
- Media: Creating a Happier Workfroce for Higher Productivity in Japan, Japan Today.
- Media: Training – an Employee or Corporate Benefit? Enterprise Times
- Media: Happier Workers Could Be More Productive, China.org.cn.
- Media: Happy Working Boosts Productivity, Hong Kong Commerical Daily (in Chinese).
- Media: Five Ways to a Happier Workforce, The Economic Times (India).
- Media: What Makes for Happy Employees (Without a Raise): Secrets Revealed, HR in Asia.
- Media: Creating Happier Workforce, The Korea Times.
- Media:Why Employers Should Pay Attention to the Financial Wellness of their Employees, Corporate Wellness Magazine.
- Blog coverage: Happy Employees Work Harder, Sizous (in Dutch).
- Blog coverage: 5 Simple Steps to Skyrocket your Career, CEO Stars (in Indonesian).
- Blog coverage: Happiness Makes People More Productive at Work, Prevencion Integral (in Spanish).
- Event: Appointed External Examiner for Part One of the Economics Tripos at the Faculty of Economics & Politics, University of Cambridge, 2016-17.
- Event: Appointed to a visiting professorship at the Centre for Experimental Social Science, Nuffield College, University of Oxford, 2016-17.
May 2016
- An article entitled "Happiness and Productivity" summarising my work appeared in ForumEPFL.
- Blog coverage: Greater Happiness Leads to Greater Productivity, Business 2 Community.
- Media: Why Chocoholics are More Productive, The Business Desk.
- Congratulations to Mihaly Abel, one of my RAE students for winning the "outstanding contribution" prize at the Carroll Round.
- Blog coverage: 10 Things to Keep Company Culture Cool, Calm and Cohesive, Iris.
- Blog coverage: Safeguarding Mobile Security while Keeping Employees Happy, dotnet.
- Blog coverage: Happy People are Productive People, eChangeGroup.com
- Blog coverage: Corporate Wellbeing, Grow Your Own Happiness.
- Blog coverage: Safeguarding Mobile Security while Keeping Employees Happy, cloudstanding.co.uk
April 2016
- The Journal of Dental Technology has summarised and discussed my research on happiness and productivity in an article Happy Technicians.
- Blog coverage: How to be Happier at Work, Quality Progress.
- Blog coverage: Measuring the Quality of Jobs in OECD Countries, by Stefano Scarpetta, Sandrine Cazes, Andrea Garnero, VoxEU.
- Blog coverage: How to Kill Happiness at Work, Globoforce.
March 2016
- Presentation: Historical Analysis of Wellbeing at the Royal Economic Society Conference at the University of Sussex (Brighton).
- Presentation: How Happy were your Great Grandparents? Measuring Happiness in the Past using Google Books to a group of artists and playwrights at Warwick as part of the "This is Tomorrow" programme.
- Event: Nominated and shortlisted for a University of Warwick staff award (for Economics Marketing with Jo Hart).
- Interviewed by the Charted Managment Institute (CMI) on the topic of "happiness and productivity".
- Interviewed by the University of Warwick about my teaching advice after being commended for teaching.
February 2016
- The Business in the Community/Mind report "Leading on Wellbeing: Transforming the Role of Line Managers" uses my research to suport a new blueprint for "unlocking employee mental wellbeing and productivity".
- Media (based on an interview): How to be a better co-worker, Reader's Digest Canada.
- Media (based on an interview): Warwick event aims to learn lessons of history, Times Higher Education.
- Keynote lecture: How Happy were your Great Grandparents? Measuring Happiness in the Past using Google Books at the Warwick Economics Summit.
- Blog coverage: 3 effective ways to boost company morale, Inc.
- Blog coverage: Why businesses should seriously consider offering financial education to their staff, Training Zone.
January 2016
- Blog coverage: Happiness: Why it's your key to career success, Cheat Sheet
- Blog coverage: Why e-cigarettes could be holding back your plans to quit smoking, Ethics and Health Law News.
- Blog coverage: Why e-cigarettes could be holding back your plans to quit smoking, Recovery Resources.
- Media: Vaping: how e-cigarettes could be holding you back from quitting smoking, The Independent.
- Media: How e-cigarettes could be stopping you from quitting, The Daily Mail
- Media: Why e-cigarettes could be holding back your plans to quit smoking, The Conversation. 65,760 reads in January, the highest of any Conversation article (more than twice the reads of the second highest).
- Event: Appointed to the advisory board of the Review of Economics and Political Science based in the University of Cairo.
- Non-technical research summary: The Happy-Productive Worker, IPA Bulletin.
December 2015
- New Working Paper: When Herding and Contrarianism Foster Market Efficiency: A Financial Trading Experiment with Andreas Park.
- Interviewed by Reader's Digest Canada on the topic of "happiness and productivity" (article coming out in February).
- Blog coverage: Happy Workers are Productive Workers, 20 Something Finance.
- Blog coverage: Three BIG Scientifically Proven Ways Corporate Team Building Promotes Employee Happiness and Business Success, Terrapin Adventures.
- Blog Coverage: 5 Ways to Stay Productive During the Holidays, Cheat Sheet.
- Blog Coverage: The Heirarchy of Workplace Wellbeing, AXA.
November 2015
- Event: Received a commendation at the Warwick Award for Teaching Excellence awards ceremony.
- Presentation: Historical Analysis of Wellbeing to "Stan's Cafe" theatre company.
- Congratulations to my PhD student David Ronayne for passing his PhD viva and winning a Research Fellowship at Nuffield College (University of Oxford).
- Blog coverage: What Makes a Happy Employee, Workplace Focus.
- Congratulations to my former PhD student Thanos Athanasopoulos for getting a tenure-track Lectureship (Assistant Professorship) at Leicester Business School.
- Media: Il Denario Puo Comparae La Felicita, Insider Pro (in Italian).
- Blog coverage: Enfocarse en Fortalezas, Positive Pscyhology News Daily in Espaniol (in Spanish).
October 2015
- New Publication: Happiness and Productivity, Journal of Labor Economics 33(4): 789-822, with Oswald & Proto.
- Media: Being happy at work really makes you more productive, Fortune.
- Media: Keeping up with the Karumes, The Economist.
- Event: Happiness & Productivity Policy Briefing, Social Market Foundation, London.
- Media (based on an interview): Half of SMEs expect productivity to increase, HR Magazine.
- Presentation: Happiness & Productivity, presented to a Treasury delegation at Warwick.
- Presentation: Historical Analysis of National Subjective Wellbeing, presented to the Government Economic Service at the Treasury.
- New Working Paper: E-Cigarettes: The Extent and Impact of Dual Use, Warwick Economic Research Paper 1064, with Doyle & Ronayne.
- Blog coverage: Financial Education for Employees? Open University Business School.
- Blog coverage: Enfocarse en Fortalezas, Positive Pscyhology News Daily (in Spanish).
- Blog coverage: Happy People Make More Money, Daily as Fresh.
- Media: Financial Education for Employees: The Business Benefits of Good Citizenship, HR Magazine.
- Media: Happy People Earn More, Genius Beauty (Womens Magazine).
- Blog coverage: Cleanliness is next to Happiness and Productivity, First Impressions Janitorial.
- Blog coverage: Happy Staff, A Pitch for Common Sense.
September 2015
- Non-technical research summary: Historical analysis of national subjective wellbeing using millions of digitised books: Introducing the HPS Index, Vox EU.
- Non-technical research summary: Measuring historical happiness through digitized books, IZA Newsroom.
- The Chartered Management Institute summarised my research in an article How being happy can make you better at your job.
- Media: Happy People Work Harder, Epoch Times.
- New Working Paper: Historical Analysis of National Subjective Wellbeing using Millions of Digitized Books, IZA DP 9195 and CAGE WP 236-2015, with Hills & Proto.
- Blog coverage: The Key to Happiness, Productivity and National Income, The Market Mogul.
- Media: L'indice di Felicita' e' nella Lingua, Rai News (in Italian).
- Media: Come Funziona l'Indice di Felicita, Rai News (in Italian).
- Media: Economistas intrépidos detrás de la contabilidad de largo plazo, La Nacion (in Spanish).
- Blog coverage: Before 1980s Americans were as unhappy as they had been since before the civil war then something happened, American Enterprise Forum.