"Traces the main tendencies of the Colombian economy during the 1980s. A solid macroeconomic review and an analysis of the handling of foreign debt explain how Colombia escaped the 'lost decade.' This examination is coupled by an overview of the decade's political swings, marked especially by...

This paper makes use of the 2006 Gallup World Survey, which includes opinions on satisfaction with various aspects of life in 130 countries. Although a very solid relationship is found between satisfaction and income (both across and within countries), raising doubts regarding the well-known...