Psychological approaches to the relationship between happiness and public policy in P.R. China

For years, public policy has focused on reducing and repairing aspects of society such as urban blight, crime, pollution, traffic congestion, etc. However, it became increasingly obvious that the society could not flourish by focusing only on eliminating these deficiencies (Kretzmann & Mcknight 1993). Such a course will only make the society fragile and vulnerable to the adverse situations such as external shocks, turbulence and crisis. Instead, helping society develop the capacities to be resilient, prosperous and happy will bring longer-term benefits (Benson 1997; National Research Council 2002; Carruthers & Hood 2004).