ALONG THE ANGLOSPHERE:

Two economists, David G. Blanchflower of Dartmouth and Alex Bryson of University College London, have come up with a new and more intuitive way to measure well-being. The results are striking. If you consider US states as comparable to countries, 16 of the top 20 political units in the world for well-being are in the US -- including the top seven. [...]

The genius of this most recent study is that it considers both positive and negative affect, and gives countries (and US states) separate ratings for the two. In other words, it recognizes there is more than one dimension to well-being. It lists four variables as part of negative affect: pain, sadness, anger and worry. Positive affect consists of four measures: life satisfaction, enjoyment, smiling and being well-rested. So life satisfaction is only one part of the measure. [...]

Measuring both positive and negative affect, the 10 happiest political units in the world are, in order: Hawaii, Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota, Iowa, Nebraska, Kansas, Taiwan, Alaska and Wisconsin. Of the top 50 places, 36 are US states (I include the District of Columbia, No. 16). China is No. 30.

The high ratings for many US political units are consistent with a realistic understanding that this remains a troubled nation. Those problems show up in Americans' higher negative affect, which is partially offset by our strong performance on positive affect.

The five least happy places, taking both positive and negative affect into account, are (from the bottom up) Iraq, South Sudan, Armenia, Togo and Central African Republic. The least happy US state is West Virginia (101), due in part to being more tired and worried than most other states. California ranks No. 59, New York No. 73.

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