Sebastiano Bavetta is Professor of Economics at Università degli Studi, Palermo, Italy and visiting professor at the University of Pennsylvania, where he teaches 'Economics of Freedom' in the Philosophy, Politics and Economics Program. He received his Ph.D. in the Philosophy of Economics from the London School of Economics and Political Science. His research interests have been concerned with issues in positive and normative economics, and in political theory. He has published several books, including The Economics of Freedom, with Pietro Navarra (Cambridge, 2012). His work has also appeared in several journals including Social Choice and Welfare, the Journal of Theoretical Politics, Constitutional Political Economy, Theory and Decision, and Economic Affairs.

1. Introduction; 2. Individual well-being: theory and measurement; 3. Autonomy freedom and individual well-being; 4. Capability and individual well-being; 5. Economic freedom, political freedom and individual well-being; 6. Autonomy and negative freedom; 7. Autonomy and capability; 8. Autonomy, limited government, capability, and happiness; 9. Normative consequences of the pursuit of happiness.