Prospects of Using Happiness Economics Concept in Assessing a Macroregion Socio-Economic Development

The article is devoted to the study of the happiness economics as one of the modern scientific directions in economic theory and identifying the prospects of using its concept in assessing the macroregion socio-economic development. The authors believe that in studies, devoted to the socio-economic development of Russian regions, it is necessary to take into account both objective statistical indicators of the quality of life and data on the people’s subjective well-being by determining their level of happiness. The article considers the history of the happiness economics, the foreign and domestic research methods of the happiness level, such as the International Happiness Index, the Prosperity Index, The Gross National Happiness Index, the World Happiness Report, the Better Life Index, monitoring the happiness level of Russians by VTSIOM, the happiness index of Russian cities, etc. The authors described six main groups of factors that have a positive impact on the feeling of the macroregion population happiness: economic, social, cultural, governance, environmental, innovative. It is concluded that the economics of happiness can increase the human capital and the inhabitant’s commitment to the macroregion territory. This is especially relevant for Russia with high interregional migration and emigration from the country. Positively influencing the people’s emotional well-being, the happiness economics concept can change everyone’s life for the better, regardless of the region of residence. The research materials can be used by state and local government entities for assessing the effectiveness of policy in the well-being of the population using the unique properties of each region.

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