0327《经济学人》：芬兰人为什么这么幸福（含文稿）

Why is Finland so happy?

The World Happiness Report, as the survey was called, usedglobalpolling data（调查结果）from Gallup tomeasurehow pleased people felt with their lives（生活满意度）. The researchers thentried to explain the differences usingvariables（变量）such asGDP perperson（人均国内生产总值）, social support,healthy-lifeexpectancy（健康寿命预期值）, freedom to make lifechoices, generosity, andfreedom from corruption（廉洁程度）.The differencesbetween top-ranking countries are tiny（差别是微小的）, and the top fivehave not changed for years. This year’s report measured immigrant happiness forthe first time, and Finland topped this category as well. This suggests thathappy societies are those with supportive social systems and institutions thatmake it harder for people tofall through the cracks（被忽视）. They are also morewilling to accept and integrate immigrants.

The secret to Finland’s happinessmight just be how boring it is. A Finnish saying sums it up well: “Happiness ishaving your own red summer cottage （避暑别墅）and a potato field.” Free education, generous parental leave andahealthy work-life balanceensure that people have the time and the means topursue their pleasures, no matter how mundane（寻常的，平凡的）. Over 80% of Finns trust the country’s police, educationandhealth-care systems（医疗系统）. And because ofprogressive taxation（累进税制）andwealth redistribution（财富再分配）, the lifestyles of the rich and the poor are notdramaticallydivergent（发散的）. Neither are those of men and women. Finland iswidelyconsidered（公认为）one of the best places in the world to be a mother, and tobe a working woman. Though suicide rates aredistressingly high（高的令人恐慌）, Finlandhas reduced these by 30%（将减少30%）since 2000. The happiness of immigrants stems from a strong support network andintegration policies, but also from the fact that immigrants in Finland tend tocome from places that are culturally close（文化接近的地方）, like neighbouring Estonia ［e'stəʊnɪə］爱沙尼亚 andRussia. 

Other cultural factors and nationalcharacteristics may also play a part. The Finns have a word, sisu, which means stoic （坚忍的，不抱怨的人）perseverance（坚持不懈） and grit（勇气毅力）,whatever comes your way（无论面对什么）.