Leisure happiness and development: A contemporary Australian perspective

The term quality of life has been used to evaluate the general wellbeing of individuals and societies. It is used in contexts such as development, freedom, life satisfaction and happiness. Evidence shows that as incomes of individuals and societies have risen, so have standards of living. However, indices of happiness and life satisfaction in societies have remained constant. For the poor, rising incomes have led to greater happiness. For the rich, getting richer, happiness has not increased. In general this paper examines data from representative national surveys and then focuses on Australian society. It shows that happiness indices have risen in a majority of nations and Australia is no exception. The extent to which leisure and happiness is affected in a turbulent world is examined. Data suggest that increased free choice in countries has a major impact on happiness. Over recent years however, economic downturns have impacted on Gross National Productivity (GNP). Whether these economic downward slides have affected Australian leisure participation is examined and analysed.