These new and revised essays analyze the revolution in the human condition that is sweeping the world. He asks if free markets are the key to human improvement, as today's policy-makers often assert. His responses employ a rich social science approach, blending economic theory, history,...

What do social surveys of life cycle experience tell us about the determinants of subjective well-being? First, that the psychologists? setpoint model is wrong. Life events in the nonpecuniary domain, such as marriage, divorce, and physical disability, have a lasting effect on well-being, and do...