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More Money Doesn't Mean More Happiness
Больше денег не значит больше счастья
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We Americans love our fast food. And a new study shows that a little thing like a nutrition label is not gonna stop us when we want a breakfast burrito.
In January 2009 King County, Washington imposed mandatory menu labeling on all restaurant chains in the region, which includes Seattle and its surrounds. Restaurants were asked to disclose nutrition information, including a calorie count, about every item on the menu.
Then, over the next year, researchers in conjunction with local public health officials monitored food purchases at the Taco Time chain of restaurants. And they found that nothing changed. The total number of sales and the average calories per order were the same, regardless of whether the restaurant labeled its menu. The study appears in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine. [citation to come]
Now, it could be that Taco Time customers were already wise to the relative nutritiousness of their meals, because the restaurant was highlighting its healthier options with a little logo before the law took effect.
So maybe all we need is a happy, "healthy icon" to keep us from overdoing it. Because pointing out that a large order of cheddar fries has 700 calories was not food for thought.
—Karen Hopkin
As we approach another week holiday shopping a lot of us are disheartened by increasing commercialism at Christmas.
Скоро начнётся вторая неделя рождественских покупок, и многих удручает растущая коммерциализация Рождества
And again we ask: Can money buy happiness?
И вновь у нас возникает вопрос: " Можно ли купить счастье за деньги?"
Well back in 1974 something called the Easterlin Paradox answered this question.
А ведь ещё в 1974г. ответ на этот вопрос дал так называемый парадокс Истерлина
It was economist Richard Easterlin who discovered that high incomes are correlated with lots of happiness.
Именно экономист Ричард Истерлин открыл, что высокие доходы коррелируют с высоким уровнем счастья населения
But over the long term there’s this point at which increased income doesn’t correlate with increased happiness. This is the paradox.
Но на длительном промежутке есть временная точка, с которой повышение дохода больше не ведёт к большему счастью. В этом и парадокс
Just last week Easterlin published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Science an update on his famous paper.
На прошлой неделе Истерлин опубликовал в Известиях Национальной Академии наук обновлённую версию своей знаменитой статьи
Researchers had looked at 37 countries, rich and poor, and found consistent results: over the long term—they took measurements over an average of 22 years—happiness ratings within a country do not increase with income.
Учёные рассмотрели 37 стран, богатых и бедных, и везде обнаружили такой факт: в длительной временной перспективе - а учёные брали данные в среднем за 22 года - в каждой из стран показатель счастья населения не растёт с ростом дохода
In Chile, China and South Korea per capita income has doubled is less than two decades yet all showed slight declines in happiness.
В Чили, Китае и Южной Корее доходы на душу населения выросли в два раза менее чем за 20 лет, и всё же уровень счастья в этих странах немного снизился
Easterlin notes, "We may need to focus policy more directly on urgent personal concerns relating to things such as health and family life, rather than on the mere escalation of material goods."
Истерлин отмечает:"Возможно, нам нужно нацелить политику впрямую на такие заботы человека, как здоровье и семейная жизнь, а не на эскалацию материального производства"
Food for thought as we swipe our credit card buying yet another iPod, Wii or Lite Brite.
Нам стоит над этим задуматься, когда вставляём свою кредитную карту в автомат при покупке очередного ай-пода или модных игровых приставок Wii или Lite Brite
—Christie Nicholson
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