Why are Latin Europeans less happy? The impact of hierarchy

Happiness in the North European is substantially higher than in the South European nations. Only part of that difference can be explained by economic prosperity. This paper explores the effect of social hierarchy. A comparison of contemporary survey findings show that power distance is more pronounced in the South than in the North of Eurpe. Macro‐sociological theory is used to provide an historical account of this difference and it can be used to explain why happiness is ower in hierarchical societies.