Gini index and happiness (Part Two)

If we were to compare the United States, France, Switzerland, and the Nordic Countries, we’d find that places with low inequality (low Gini) tend to score higher on the Happiness Index, but the relationship is not perfectly linear. 

Still, the pattern becomes very clear: Nordics and Swiss combine low inequality with very high happiness, France sits in the middle, and the US shows high happiness despite high inequality, thanks to strong GDP growth and public‑goods effects. Below is a structured, country‑by‑country comparison grounded in the best available research. 

United States:  

• High inequality, stable happiness The US has exceptionally high income inequality, rising over the last four decades. Yet average happiness has remained broadly constant, and happiness inequality has actually fallen. 
• Why? Research suggests that economic growth and the expansion of public goods (infrastructure, services) help offset the negative effects of inequality. 
• Interpretation: The US is the classic case where high Gini does not automatically mean low happiness, because growth and public goods reduce the dispersion of happiness even as inequality rises. 

France: 

• Moderate inequality, moderate happiness France’s inequality is lower than the US, but higher than the Nordics. Research from French economists (Clark, Flèche, Senik) shows that happiness inequality falls when GDP grows, even if income inequality rises. France fits this pattern: stable happiness, moderate inequality, strong public services. 
• Interpretation: France’s combination of social safety nets and moderate inequality produces middle‑of‑the‑pack happiness scores — higher than the U.S. on equality, lower than the Nordics on happiness. 

Switzerland: 

• Low inequality, very high happiness Switzerland ranks among the richest countries (GDP per capita ~$100K). It also ranks 13th in global happiness (score 6.94). Switzerland’s Gini coefficient is low, thanks to strong social cohesion, high wages, and decentralized governance. 
• Interpretation: Switzerland is a textbook case of low inequality + high happiness, consistent with the dominant global pattern. 

Nordic Countries (Finland, Denmark, Sweden, Iceland): 

• Very low inequality, highest happiness in the world Finland, Denmark, Iceland, and Sweden occupy the top four positions in global happiness rankings (scores 7.35–7.74). These countries also have some of the lowest Gini coefficients globally. Their happiness is driven by strong social safety nets, high trust in institutions, broad access to public services, low inequality and high social mobility 
• Interpretation: The Nordics are the strongest evidence that low inequality correlates with high happiness.

What this comparison shows Low inequality strongly supports high happiness (Nordics, Switzerland). Moderate inequality produces moderate happiness (France). High inequality does not always reduce happiness if growth and public goods compensate (US). 

That’s not as simple as it seems and I hope I didn’t confuse you too much!

Gini index and happiness (Part One)

For those who don’t remember or don’t know it, the Gini index (or Gini coefficient) is a statistical tool used to measure economic inequality within a population. A zero (0) index represents perfect equality, where every single person or household earns the exact same amount of money. A one (1) index stands for perfect inequality, where a single person earns all the income and everyone else earns nothing. 

It’s not a measure you’ll see on your News feed or hear from your politician! I’ve been wondering if there was any correlation between what is published as “Happiness Index” and that measure of inequality. Obviously, there’s a correlation between a country’s Happiness Index and its Gini Index. But the relationship is not linear. 

Research shows three different patterns depending on the country, culture, and level of inequality. A large cross‑national study of 30 countries found that high inequality correlates with fewer happy people and more unhappy people. The effect is similar in magnitude to the effect of median income on happiness. As we had guessed, this is the “expected direction”: more inequality means less happiness. 

This said the relationship is NOT always linear. Major studies have found an inverted U‑shaped curve between inequality and happiness. When inequality is low, people generally see it as a sign of opportunity and upward mobility and believe that their happiness can increase. 

However, when inequality becomes high, jealousy, frustration, and reduced mobility dominate people’s lives and their happiness decreases. This pattern was confirmed in US longitudinal data and European cross‑national data. 

Therefore we could say that a little inequality can increase happiness but too much inequality reduces it. Another study shows that happiness depends on how individuals compare themselves to similar others (same gender, ethnicity, etc.). In that situation, people who can make both upward and downward comparisons feel happier in states where inequality is high, because their relative position is clearer. When inequality is low, comparisons are less meaningful, and this effect disappears. 

This means inequality affects happiness through psychology, not just economics. As we might expect, the effect of inequality on happiness varies strongly by region. Some regions show a strong negative correlation while others show weaker or mixed effects depending on social norms, welfare systems, and mobility expectations. In conclusion, there is a correlation, but it’s complex: 

When inequality is low, happiness can rise and people interpret inequality as a sign of opportunity but when inequality is high, happiness falls as people feel stuck, jealous, or pessimistic about mobility; the relationship depends on social comparison, culture, and expectations. 

This explains why Nordic countries (low Gini, high happiness) score well, while countries with very high inequality often score poorly — but also why some moderately unequal countries can still report high happiness. Next time, we’ll dig a bit deeper and take a look at some individual countries...

Rain and dirty lettuce

Because of intense recent rainfalls, the lettuce from my veggie garden has never been as dirty as it is now and I’ve been wondering if there were any tricks I could use for cleaning it properly and much faster while even using less water.

Here’s what I found based on what professional growers do. Yes, there are faster, cleaner and low‑water ways to wash very dirty garden lettuce, especially after heavy rains when soil splashes deep into the leaves. 

I should start by using a bucket if not a large bowl or salad spinner as a “wash tank”. I fill the container halfway — not full — with cold water and I’ll use the same water for the whole batch. Then, I dunk the lettuce upside down, since soil collects at the base of the leaves and turning the head upside down lets dirt fall out immediately. I follow by gently swishing for 5–10 seconds, without scrubbing as dirt will release on its own. 

Finally, I lift the lettuce out of the water and never pour the water over it. That’s the key because dirt sinks, lettuce floats and I remove a clean lettuce while the dirt stays behind. This uses very little water and cleans far better than running water. Then, a salad spinner removes the last bits of grit and moisture. 

Only if the lettuce is very muddy (like after a severe storm) will I use a “two‑stage wash” by repeating step one into a fresh half container of water. Remember to only use cold water as it makes dirt detach faster, tightens the leaves and makes them crisp. A bonus trick is to remove the outer leaves before washing as they collect the most mud. 

Another pro trick is to soak for 2 minutes with a splash of vinegar (I haven’t tried it). If the soil is sticky (clay‑rich), add 1 tablespoon of white vinegar per gallon of water. It helps release grit and kills microbes and no taste remains after spinning dry. Finally I remember to never rinse under running water as it wastes water and doesn’t remove grit. I don’t shake vigorously as it bruises leaves and never wash in a colander as dirt stays trapped. 

Now, just like me, you can eat a clean salad. Bon appétit!

A fence deer will hate…

When we built our home 13 years ago there was a small rustic fence to the south of our property. It was small, just 3 feet tall and quite charming. Yet, it was rotting fast having been placed there before 1980. Over the years I fixed it regularly the best I could, but it eventually passed its expected lifetime and I decided to do something about it.

At first, in 2016, I thought of just replacing it with as it was originally and I even considered doing it myself. I just needed $1,000 worth of wood and concrete not counting my handwork. 

A month or so ago, I finally decided to replace it, but decided I was too old for this kind of exercise and got bids for it that amounted up to six times the amount contemplated a decade earlier, so I thought to myself why not do a complete 6 feet fence around the back of the house, not realizing that it would be be four times more than the short 25 meter fence! 

It would, among other things, put and end to our backyard constant invasion by large animals. So one thing led to the other, and I thought of Trump and his fence on the southern border that for sure would be paid by Mexico. 

So I found a Mexican contractor that couldn’t speak much English, but who gave me a great opportunity to test my nascent Spanish on him and his crew. In a few days a fancy fence was erected and as we finally realized that it would be deer, moose, dog and bobcat-proof, my wife and I congratulated each other. 

Still, just like with Trump’s wall, our Mexican contractor didn’t pay for the fence, quite the contrary! 

A job we love! (Part Three)

Typically, we often dislike activities we’re not yet good at or we don’t yet understand. Give it time, mastery, and autonomy, and it’s possible that dislike can turn into appreciation. Again, this won’t work if the dislike comes from value conflict, identity conflict, or chronic stress. None of us can grow to love a work that contradicts our ethics, that suppresses our personality, that chronically empties and exhausts us and that isolates us socially or feels totally meaningless. 

In those cases, “growing to love it” is not growth — it’s self‑flagellation. In reality, we don’t fall in love with jobs, but we fall in love with the competence we gain, the connections we make, the impact we can have on society, the environment or the health of others, the comfort of the routine we fall into, the unique identity it gives us and the person we become through our work.

A job becomes lovable when it becomes a container for personal growth, not when it perfectly matches a passion. When passion and occupation don’t match or clash, here are the strategies that actually work: Shift from “passion” to “craft”, by focusing on becoming excellent at something, this excellence will give us pride. Build meaning around the job, not in the job but around it as meaning comes from supporting our family, contributing to a team, helping clients or users, developing a great reputation and learning resilience. 

Don’t forget to create passion outside of work too, by developing hobbies, relationships, volunteering or embarking into some creative pursuits. Then, work becomes the enabler, not the centerpiece. Adjust the job, not replace it by effecting small changes, like different tasks, different teams, different schedules to transform our experience. 

Personally, I have turned chores around the house or elsewhere into games where I try to improve the quality of my work, creatively tweak certain procedures and measure both quality and time gained. Everything, even the most hateful activity becomes a game! 

Finally, accept that passion is not the only path to fulfillment. Fulfillment could come from stability, mastery, contribution, balance, identity, relationships. Seen that way, passion is only one ingredient. I’m not lamenting its absence, I’m just exploring the possibility of growth, adaptation, and meaning in imperfect circumstances, and see in them another hurdle that I’m smart enough to overcome. 

People can grow to love what they once disliked — but only when the work becomes a vehicle for competence, autonomy, and meaning as long as it doesn’t violate their true nature. Try it, and you’ll love what you used to hate!

A job we love! (Part Two)

So when this ideal job filled with passion and an irresistible desire to go to work every morning isn’t quite in the cards, let’s see how people can grow to love (or at least deeply appreciate) an activity they initially loathe, but only under certain conditions. 

When raw passion isn’t part of the proposition can it be construed through meaning, mastery, autonomy, and identity? Sure, we cannot force ourselves to love something that violates our values or drains our energy, this would be insane! In fact, the real question I’m asking is not whether dream jobs exist, but in case I don’t love what I do, can I grow to appreciate it more and eventually, at least like it? Can affection for a job be cultivated?

This is a profound question, and psychology has a surprisingly clear answer. From what I’ve found, research in motivation psychology shows that passion tends to emerge from the three following ingredients: 

• Autonomy: If our bosses or superiors let us, when we gain a certain amount of control over the ways we can do the work, it suddenly becomes more tolerable, then evolving into an activity that begins being enjoyable. 
• Mastery: When we get good at something, we start liking it more as competence generates satisfaction and becomes fully part of who we are as a person. 
• Meaning or Purpose: When we connect the work to something larger than ourselves (helping others, supporting family, contributing to a team), it becomes emotionally sustainable and we can be proud of our contribution. 

These three elements can transform a disliked job into a more meaningful one, but they obviously cannot transform a job that violates our values or drains our identity. In the next part of that series, we’ll dig even deeper to see how we can grow to love an activity we think we loathe at first glance.

A job we love! (Part One)

We all would like to have a job we love and we tell the same to our children, grandkids or anyone we care enough for, because the perfect match between our passions and an occupation that falls right into what we love is, for most of us, so hard to come by. And it’s precisely that reality that forces many of us into accepting all sorts of compromises and often abandon that “Dream Career” we’ve hoped for.

So a fair question is what can we do if there’s no match between what we’d love to do and the reality of another occupation that seems unable to procure us much pleasure without even mentioning “Passion”? More specifically, can we “grow” in love with an activity we loathe. 

This is probably one of the most honest tensions in adult life: the gap between the work we dream of and the work we end up doing. And it’s naming something most people feel but rarely articulate, that is the quiet grief of realizing that passion and occupation don’t always align, and the deeper question of whether love for a job can be cultivated rather than found. 

Let’s not kid ourselves, a “dream job” is incredibly rare, as matching one’s passion to that person’s occupation is uncommon, not so much because people lack passion, but because our passions are often non‑marketable, they also change over time, while jobs are shaped by economic needs, not personal dreams. 

In my case, even though I embarked in what could be termed a “Dream Career” in the ski business, my job never felt super easy and was fraught with frustration from unreasonable owners, incompetent superiors or just lack of material resources, so the “dream” often turn into a recurrent little nightmare. Finally, there are also unforeseen aspects of a dream job that can turn into horrible experiences of their own...  

Most work available to us contains repetition, constraint, and compromise, so the idea that everyone should “follow their passion” is comforting but highly misleading, if not utopia, as most of us end up building a life around imperfect work and never discovering that ideal career and this perfect fit. Tomorrow, we’ll see what can be done about it…