"People who have hope also have a better future. Thanks to Carol Graham, we now have empirical evidence that hopefulness and not just objective circumstances matter, often in surprising ways. Read this book to learn more not just about the power of hope but about an entire body of work to which she has so ably and persistently contributed."-- Isabel Sawhill, author of Forgotten Americans "In this study of hope and despair, Carol Graham once again applies her economist's empirical perspective to people's internal feelings, a hitherto verboten subject in economics. A truly pathbreaking volume!"-- Richard A. Easterlin, University of Southern California "If you care about improving people's lives, this is the book for you. Hope is crucial for starting that journey. Graham explains what all of us--and governments and businesses--must do to reach the goal of better well-being for all.

"-- Gus O'Donnell, former Cabinet Secretary, United Kingdom "This fine book fills a yawning gap. Hope, as it shows, is vital for well-being and for effective living. So who is hopeful and why? Read the book."-- Richard Layard, author of Happiness: Lessons from a New Science "In this remarkable book, Carol Graham, a distinguished researcher in the field of human well-being, takes us in a strikingly new direction. Her evidence unveils the vital role that hope plays in our lives."-- Andrew Oswald, University of Warwick "Here is a thoughtful, evidence-based, thoroughly readable treatise on the nature of hope. Graham ties high 'deaths of despair' among white, low-income Americans to their lack of hope and personal agency; for them America's Horatio Alger myth of individually driven progress is a heavy burden. The contrast with less well-off but more hopeful Black Americans is striking.

Survey results in Peru, St. Louis, and elsewhere show the policy logic of periodically taking a society's temperature."-- Nancy Birdsall, founding president of the Center for Global Development.