| Happiness is not only the root and the starting of human economic behavior, but also the eternal theme human beings discuss. Early economics promoted the happiness of human beings as a mission. With the further development of the Economics, utility and preferences gradually replace happiness and the growth of wealth and income receives attention and the study of happiness faded out of economics’ perspective. With introducing the conception of happiness paradox in1974, the study of happiness got economists’ attention again and developed rapidly. Happiness is also regarded as the ultimate goal of economic growth and development by a growing number of academics, government officials and the public.That the study about economics returns to happiness again marks a trend of research about economics mainstream from Homo economics to Homo behavioralis and a trend of social value from the "thing-oriented" concept of wealth to "people-oriented" concept of happiness. It’s important for promoting economics’ further development to analyze the substance of happiness in the field of economics and discuss the status and role of happiness in economics. This article teases the meaning of happiness from the perspective of History of Economics’ development and introduces the study of happiness in different stages from classical philosophy and economics, modern old and new welfare economics to contemporary Hedonomics. This article also analyzes the sublation and regression of being happiness as research purposes and a starting point in the field of economics, makes a summative research for the development of Hedonomics and makes some policy recommendations for how to improve the well-being of people in today’s society. |
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