Socio-economic roots of happiness " What makes people happy? Wealth, a good job, friends, family, or good health? This paper provides a thorough summary of recent social, economic and psychological research into the roots of happiness. The relationship between life satisfaction and other variables such as economic growth, inflation, unemployment, health status, education and many more are discussed. By Nick Donovan and David Halpern of the Strategy Unit.

By Strategy Unit, UK , EU, and Others .

Miscellaneous Policy Resource.

Privacy and Data-Sharing" Information technology brings the possibility of governments being able to offer their citizens more seamless services. It also offers the Orwellian threat of faceless bureaucrats matching data on individuals and invading their privacy. "Privacy and Data-Sharing: The Way Forward for Public Services" by the Performance and Innovation Unit explores these issues in the UK context and sets out a route map for balancing privacy requirements with the benefits of data matching.

By Performance and Innovation Unit, UK.

Miscellaneous Policy Resource.

Measuring Globalization " One aspect frequently missed in the debates about globalization is its measurement: How extensive is globalization? Which countries are the most globalized? The least? And why? Those rare instances in which anyone attempts to gauge globalization typically rely on data concerning international trade and investment flows, to the exclusion of other aspects of global integration. To fill this gap, Foreign Policy has created an index that employs indicators spanning information technology, finance, trade, politics, travel, and personal communication to evaluate levels of global integration in dozens of advanced economies and key emerging markets worldwide. It finds Ireland to be the most globalized nation state..

By Foreign Policy, UK.

Miscellaneous Policy Resource.

Time Banks " Like a babysitting circle, a time bank offers people the chance to buy services such as dog walking or making out a tax return - but with time not money. To earn those 'time credits' or 'time dollars' people have to offer goods or services themselves. Credits and debts are tallied regularly - and recorded in individual accounts. Time Banks: A Radical Manifesto for the UK by the New Economics Foundation, the UK Time Bank web site and the US Time Dollar web site provide more information

By New Economics Foundation , UK.

Miscellaneous Policy Resource.