Contributors; 1: Happiness, Research, and Latin America; 1.1 Happiness; 1.1.1 Happiness Is Important; 1.1.2 Happiness Is an Ultimate Goal; 1.1.3 Happiness Motivates Human Action; 1.2 The Study of Happiness. The Old Traditions of Imputation and Presumption; 1.2.1 The Imputation Tradition; 1.2.2 The Presumption Tradition; 1.3 The Scientific Study of Happiness. Happiness Research; 1.3.1 Happiness Is a Life Experience of Being Well; 1.3.2 The Epistemology of Happiness. Knowing Happiness; 1.3.3 Measuring Happiness; 1.4 Happiness in Latin America; 1.4.1 The Region

1.4.2 Latin America Is a Happy Region. Is This a Paradox?1.5 Happiness Research in Latin America; 1.5.1 Researching Happiness in Latin America; 1.5.2 The Contributions in the Handbook; 1.6 Reconsideration of the Wealth of Nations; Bibliography; Part I: The Relevance of Latin American Happiness; 2: The Singularity of Latin American Patterns of Happiness; 2.1 Introduction; 2.2 Traditional View of Social Progress and Political Emergence of Subjective Indicators; 2.3 Inconsistency Comes into Play: The Curious Levels of Happiness in Latin America

2.4 Explaining ``Inconsistency ́́I: Individual Determinants of Happiness in Latin America2.5 Explaining ``Inconsistency ́́II: The Impact of Social Relations; 2.6 Overview: Consistency in the Indicators and Political Challenges; Bibliography; 3: The Social Psychology of Latin American Happiness; 3.1 Latin American Happiness; 3.2 Roots of Latin American Happiness: Small Traditional Villages; 3.3 From Andean Tradition to Modernity: Peri-urban Pueblos; 3.4 A Rural to Peri-urban Amazonian Corridor: Differences and Similarities with the Andes

3.5 Shantytowns: From Bucolic Happiness to Urban-Marginal Stress3.6 Urban Latin American Happiness Structure; 3.6.1 Optimistic Adaptation; 3.6.2 A Good Place to Live; 3.6.3 Home; 3.7 Conclusions: Latin American Happiness Processes; 3.7.1 Family and Social Relations; 3.7.2 Latin America: An Imperfect Place to Live, the Happy Adventure Park; 3.7.3 Optimistic Adaptation as a Key Feature of Latin American Happiness Adaptation; 3.7.4 Origins and Final Conclusions of Latin American Happiness; Bibliography; 4: The Relevance of Happiness: Choosing Between Development Paths in Latin America

4.1 Introduction4.2 Happiness Provides New Relevant Information; 4.2.1 Standard Economic Theory: Income and Well-Being; 4.2.2 The Limitations of Income as a Proxy for Well-Being. Findings from Happiness Research; 4.2.2.1 Persons Are Socially Immersed; 4.2.2.2 People May Raise Their Aspirations and Change Their Evaluation Norms; 4.2.2.3 People May Easily Adapt to the New Consumption Goods; 4.2.2.4 Bias Towards Economic Goods. No Consideration of Relational Goods; 4.2.2.5 Not All Needs Are Material. Human Beings Do Also Have Psychological Needs