The paper gives an overview of the most important principles and the most recent research in the field of the economics of happiness. Its aim is to improve the basis for public discussion and informed decision-making in policy creation and implementation. The concept of happiness attracted economists early on and their attitude towards it has changed with time. Modern happiness data represent a new, scientifically validated way of measuring progress, although there is still room for improvement. The research shows that key determinants of happiness include physical and mental health, social relations, income and institutions. Happiness in itself leads to a wide range of benefits for individuals and society. This kind of research can help policy creators decide on the role, nature, target recipients and priorities for relevant policies. All this demonstrates that happiness economics has a potential for addressing current needs and future tasks to build a happier society.

Članak daje pregled temeljnih postavki te nalaza znanstvenih istraživanja vezano uz temu utjecaja financijskih aranžmana Međunarodnog monetarnog fonda (Fond) na priljeve inozemnog kapitala, a u svrhu unapređenja podloge za kvalitetnu raspravu te donošenje informiranih i znanstveno utemeljenih odluka o ovoj temi. Države obično sklapaju financijske aranžmane s Fondom kada više nisu u mogućnosti trajno financirati deficite na tekućem računu platne bilance priljevima inozemnog kapitala. U takvim okolnostima jedan od ključnih zadataka je potaknuti nove priljeve odnosno smanjiti odljeve inozemnog kapitala. I sam Fond zastupa viđenje o katalitičkom učinku svojih aranžmana na priljev inozemnog kapitala. Međutim, sistematičan pregled nalaza empirijskih istraživanja na ovu temu ukazuje na vrlo diferencirane rezultate promatranih studija. Općeniti zaključci iziskuju oprez, no čini se da empirijska istraživanja na većem uzorku ne daju jednoznačnu potvrdu teze o postojanju snažnog i konzistentnog pozitivnog učinka Fonda na priljev inozemnog kapitala. Ukoliko se ovakvi rezultati ne uzmu u obzir prilikom oblikovanja i provedbe ekonomske politike to može dovesti do ekonomskih, financijskih i političkih teškoća kako u državama korisnicama tako i u samom MMF-u. Doprinos rada ogleda se u sažetom prikazu i povezivanju ključnih postavki predmetne problematike, kritičkoj sistematizaciji dosadašnje literature, definiranju prisutnih trendova i njihovih mogućih implikacija te identifikaciji potencijalnih novih načina za dublje izučavanje i bolje razumijevanje ove kompleksne teme. Osim znanstvenoj literaturi, kritički prikaz znanstveno utemeljenih spoznaja i nalaza u ovom kontekstu, predstavlja značajan doprinos i za donositelje odluka, ulagače te širu javnost.

Well-being is an essential human need and has social, psychological and economic benefits. Consequently, social scientists and economists, in particular, want to know whether economic reform can lead to increased (and sustainable) happiness. To answer this question, we applied a new approach—investigating the effect of economic reform programmes on national well-being for 154 countries between 2005 and 2018. As the dependent variable, we employed national subjective well-being scores based on people’s evaluation of their satisfaction with life. International Monetary Fund economic reform programmes provided a sufficiently long time–series and global presence for the main independent variable. We used a treatment effect model and fixed-effects instrumental variable panel with the novel approach of synthetic instruments, to address selection bias generated by the non-random selection of countries into International Monetary Fund programme participation, also controlling for unobservable characteristics influencing both International Monetary Fund participation and national well-being. Irrespective of the approach used, empirical findings show that economic reform programmes lead to increased national well-being globally, both in the short-term and the long-term. The results do not imply that International Monetary Fund arrangements should be used as policy tools to increase national well-being. They empirically confirm our argument that improvements in national economies sustaining increased well-being require intentional effort and engagement.