Freakonomics

Although the Freakonomics books are probably rightly criticized for some oversimplifications, I find the blog to be absolutely fascinating. I'd call it my favorite way to waste time on the internet except that I'm not sure it is a waste of time, I always learn a bunch of stuff I didn't know, and didn't know that I didn't know.

Justin Wolfers, one of the regular contributors, has a 6 part series on the economics of happiness which reanalyzes the traditional story.

• The Economics of Happiness, Part 1: Reassessing the Easterlin Paradox
• The Economics of Happiness, Part 2: Are Rich Countries Happier than Poor Countries?
• The Economics of Happiness, Part 3: Historical Evidence
• The Economics of Happiness, Part 4: Are Rich People Happier than Poor People?
• The Economics of Happiness, Part 5: Will Raising the Incomes of All Raise the Happiness of All?
• The Economics of Happiness, Part 6: Delving Into Subjective Well-Being

Great stuff - and although it might not seem relevant to conservation biology it is very much central to the biggest picture