I smile wistfully at the news that the Paris-based Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development has determined—yet again—that Australia is the happiest country in the developed world.

This is the third year running that my adopted land has won this distinction, beating out the rest of the OECD's 34 member states, plus Russia and Brazil, in the organization's annual Better Life Index survey. The United States, where I was born and raised, finished in sixth place, while Britain, where I have been spending time lately, came in tenth. The survey took into account 11 different economic, health, environmental, and lifestyle parameters that are reckoned to contribute to "happiness." After the OECD ground the numbers through the data mill, Australia,