Gabe Lipton is the Associate Editor of Signal responsible for editorial execution of GZERO Media's written newsletter content. He holds degrees in Government and Economics from Wesleyan University, where he was a member of the international economic honors society, and is studying German in his spare time. At the age of 11, the Green Goblin (Willem Dafoe) confirmed (in person) his take on an important political question of the day, forever sealing his fate as a close observer of global politics. His Spidey powers leave much to be desired.
Over the past 20 years, hundreds of millions of people in China have been pulled out of poverty by their country's staggering economic growth. Beijing today is a rising power on the global stage. That's all pretty great, and yet the country still ranks beneath war-torn Libya and perpetually melancholy Russia in the United Nations World Happiness Report. This week's Economist hazards a guess about what really makes people smile or scowl, but here's how China stacks up for joy against other countries.