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The stable levels of happiness of an individual are subject to short-term fluctuations. Some of the elements of happiness are behaviorally driven and others are determined by socioeconomic and demographic variables. The findings from the Russia Longitudinal Monitoring Survey (RLMS) show that as countries grow wealthier the average happiness levels do not increase after certain minimum levels of per capita income. Self-esteem and optimism likely influence individual's wealth and health.

As crisis after crisis has swept through Latin America, optimism about the region's turn to the market and democratic government during the mid-1990s has given way to grave concern. Most [...]