This database will be continued in its present form as long as Ruut Veenhoven is able to. Since he was born in 1942, that will not be for long. After Veenhoven’s time, the database will be stored in the Library of Erasmus University Rotterdam and be kept available on the internet. Continued availability of the first version as left by Ruut Veenhoven will be supported by the Foundation for the Study of Happiness.
Colleague scientists can build on this first version in two ways:
- Continuation of the database as a whole
This will require an investment of about 3 fte. per year. Greater investment will be required when the research output on happiness keeps growing and the aim of complete coverage is maintained.
New versions must be named differently from the first version, e.g. World Database of Happiness 2 and the use of version 1 should be acknowledged. - Continuation of parts of the database. Some options are:
- Continuation of the Bibliography (Publications) only. This is useful in itself and lays a basis for later adding of research findings.
- Restrict to Distributional findings, that is means and standard deviations observed in populations, such as
– The general public in nations. Continue the collection of Happiness in Nations
– Special publics such as the elderly, self-employed or high educated people. Continue part or whole of the collection of Happiness in Special Publics. For example continue the collection of Happiness in the Elderly people. - Restrict to particular Correlational findings, such as income
Copies are free available for interested colleagues and involve 1) a copy of the database by which the website is fed in Ms-Access and 2) the internet application in WordPress.
Contact Ruut Veenhoven at e-mail veenhoven@ese.eur.nl or after his time the Erasmus Happiness Economics Research Organization (EHERO) at e-mail ehero@eur-nl