Episode 5: There’s more to life than money: how do we measure happiness?

From supermarkets to high speed trains, politics to lottery tickets; economics is embedded in all that we do. It isn’t just about maths and money, it’s about how everything is interconnected and human behaviour plays a big part - our happiness in our choices is paramount.

In this episode, Dr Simon Rudkin explains the decision making process behind buying a lottery ticket and how scrutinising big data informs policy making for social welfare.

Simon’s research continues to make an impact and brings the best of economics together with the best of other disciplines such as computer science. He explores how economists can cast light on vital societal issues and contribute to policy making.

Moreover, Simon encourages everyone to express everything on scales: the idea that nothing is at the extremes, but we need to argue and evaluate where we are in between the extreme points. In other words, nothing is as clear as left/right; correct/wrong; yes/no.

Biography

Dr Simon Rudkin of Swansea University’s Economics department is a passionate believer that Economics can contribute actively to a wealth of societal issues. His subsequent projects have been defined by a desire to bring together concepts from across the discipline to advance broader understanding.