The Hidden Wealth of Nations (Hardback)

"Scintillating and immensely well-informed and covers almost all aspects of public policy. Halpern is particularly interested in wellbeing and - as his remarks about heroin indicate - he seems to be using the book to flesh out all the policy ideas that he could not get past the prime minister." Andrew Sparrow, Guardian political blog "The author introduces libertarian paternalism, defaults setting, the power of declarative norms, and the choice architecture promoted by Thaler and Sunstein. That sounds heavy, but Halpern has a way to make it read like the latest Ben Elton." Neighbourhoods "Halpern has kept a wide audience in mind with this stimulating and detailed book. Kicking off with that question that everyone has an answer to - does money make you (or your nation) happy? - and romping through a range of dinner party topics from immigration to whether democracy is going down the pan, he draws out a range of evidence that is useful and often surprising." New Start "Halpern's discussion of the policy complexity of promoting social mobility or the issues relating to overcoming social exclusion is impressively nuanced and thought provoking." Socialist Unity "An excellent book - a thoughtful and informed analysis of a wide range of policy issues by someone who's 'been there'." Richard Easterlin, University of Southern California "An important book by someone who has been at the centre of public policy to improve our community. This book will do much to rebalance our priorities towards aspects of life which really matter." Richard Layard, London School of Economics and Political Science