Alan Piper

Academic economist/social scientist, particularly interested in human well-being.
Lecturer @LUBSEconDept
Guest researcher @FU_Berlin

[Mukhtar @I_amMukhtar]

Fair play to this guy. He's absolutely spot. This is the Britain I love and know.

[International Society for Quality-of-Life Studies @ISQOLS_org]

More group discussion = happier students?
New research by Kelsey O'Connor & Stefano Bartolini links it to better life satisfaction, attention & friendships—though not for girls. Why?
📄 https://t.co/BannLGy9Z1
📝 https://t.co/5C4hiS8uWg
#education #wellbeing #PISA

[C Barrington-Leigh @profcpbl]

Open-access PDF of entire book, "Wellbeing and Policy: Evidence for Action", edited by Briguglio, Czap, and Laffan, now available!
https://t.co/ezZJYXrgHa

[Alan Piper @AlanPiper100]

https://t.co/uo31lx2IQL

[Alan Piper @AlanPiper100]

PhD Scholarship and Funding Opportunities live online event | Leeds University Business School | University of Leeds Thursday 27 February, 12pm - 1pm (UK time)
Register via the link below. #PhD #Scholarship #Funding

[Bill Madden @maddenifico]

Massive rally in Berlin against against far-right fascism. 🙌🙏💪👏👊👇

[Alan Piper @AlanPiper100]

Interesting article (link in first response to the quoted thread). Particularly of interest for the study of contemporary wellbeing.

[Derek Thompson @DKThomp]

I wrote the cover story of the February issue of The Atlantic. It builds on a lot of reporting I did throughout 2024, and I'm really proud of it.

It’s called: THE ANTI-SOCIAL CENTURY

The thesis: Rising solitude is the most important social fact in American life today. The historic amounts of time that Americans spend alone and in their homes is reshaping the consumer economy—from dining to entertainment to delivery—warping our politics, alienating us from the realities of our neighbors and villages, and changing our very personalities.

Here are the basic facts:

1. In the last few years, in-person socialization has declined, for every demographic group, to its lowest point on record

2. The typical American is now alone more than in any period where we have decent data, going back to at least 1965

3. Americans now spend an extra 99 minutes in their homes compared to 2003—a trend that crept up slowly before the pandemic, before exploding and remaining at a seriously elevated level. As Princeton’s Patrick Sharkey wrote in a 2024 paper, the homebound trend isn't just about remote work. Homebound life has “risen for every subset of the population and for virtually all activities” from eating to praying.

4. America's social depression is far-reaching. The share of adults having dinner or drinks with friends on any given night has declined by more than 30% in the past 20 years. The share of boys and girls who say they meet up with friends almost daily outside school hours has declined by nearly 50%.

I don’t think these trends are simple. In many cases, they’re not even simply bad. (Ordering delivery: totally fine! Eating more meals alone, year after year after year: not so great!) But to see these trends—and their effects on American society—more clearly, I thought this phenomenon needed an anchoring, a naming, a media artifact for people to talk about, even if only to point out that I’m wrong. So, I wrote this.

[C Barrington-Leigh @profcpbl]

Next up in the McGill-UofT Wellbeing Research Seminar:
https://t.co/bR11HakS9D

[Nick Powdthavee @NickPowdthavee]

Since Andrew is not on social media, I took the liberty to share his memoriam of Richard Easterlin here.

[Alan Piper @AlanPiper100]

#hopenothate #MerryChristmas Little contribution to the good fight against far right online (and other) disinformation

[International Society for Quality-of-Life Studies @ISQOLS_org]

ISQOLS is offering free registrations + travel stipends for early-career researchers & students to attend the 2025 ISQOLS Conference Luxembourg (22-25 July) Apply by Jan 30, 2025, Priority for members in developing countries. Learn more: https://t.co/RpfDkb5cMb
@STATECLux

[David Spencer @Spencer_DavidA]

PhD scholarships available including in economics at my home institution - happy to guide applicants who may be interested https://t.co/B0H1QCFkdC

[Max Kinnings @maxkinnings]

Haven’t watched a full episode of #BBCQT in years. Most enjoyable to watch Farage getting his arse handed to him by Campbell over Brexit. But the star turn was this guy.

[Prof. Effie Kesidou_econ @effie_kesidou]

🎓21 PhD Opportunities!
@LeedsUniBSchool offers 21 fully-funded PhD Excellence Scholarships for 2025/26!
🌍 Open to all nationalities.
📅 Deadline: 28 March 2025
🌟 Join a top UK business school!
Apply 👉 [https://t.co/WDHCQqc29H]
#PhD @UniversityLeeds
#Scholarships

[Alan Piper @AlanPiper100]

DEADLINE TODAY for the call for papers for the 2025 BeWell (Berlin Network of Research in Wellbeing) Meeting. Always a very good event. Click for details and to send off an abstract: https://t.co/NVSrctWjBm

[Susie Dent @susie_dent]

Word of the day is ‘recrudescence’ (17th century): the return of something terrible after a time of reprieve.

[Alan Piper @AlanPiper100]

Thank you to the Future of Work Research Centre @sbsatsurrey @UniOfSurrey for inviting me to present some research - an enjoyable and interesting occasion. Nice campus!

[Prof. Effie Kesidou_econ @effie_kesidou]

Are you looking for PhD funding? Book now to join our live online event on Thursday 5 December, 11am – 12pm (UK time) to discover the range of funding opportunities available at @LeedsUniBSchool School  #LUBSPhDFunding

https://t.co/1AAhsCJ8UV

[William Hague @WilliamJHague]

Trump is a serious danger and we all need him to lose.

[Brendan May @bmay]

Denying this is a bit like denying gravity.

Not many nations are this dim.