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Page last updated at 09:41 GMT, Monday, 16 January 2012

Is happiness a government issue?

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People in Britain are enduring what is meant to be the most miserable day of the year. But will government plans to quantify happiness make "Blue Monday" a thing of the past?

A report from the Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA) has been released which argues that the government's strategy of measuring and explicitly promoting happiness over other objectives is counter-productive and a waste of money.

Professor Philip Booth of the IEA and Lord Layard of the Centre for Economic Performance at the London School of Economics discuss whether the government can legislate for happiness.


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