The Sunday edition of the Baltimore Sun has a feature on happiness by Joe Burris, which contains a number of quotes from your resident happiness wonk. I’m especially delighted to have received the last word:
Those rankings raise the age-old question: Does money buy happiness?
“All the evidence points to the fact that people who have more money are more likely to say that they’re happy on these surveys,” said Wilkinson. “People who say that money doesn’t matter are misleading you. Within just about any country, as you go up the income scale, the people higher up the income scale are happier.”
The last sentence in the quotation is a casual gloss of the first where “are happier” = “are more likely to say they are happy.” I was thinking of this chart:
Maybe one of these days, the conventional wisdom will actually reflect the data.
The problem here is that richer may not be happy because they have a lot of stuff. They’re happy because they’re doing better than the rest. Similarly, the poor are unhappy in part not because they lack stuff but because other people are doing better. Inequality, not money, is the issue here. If you look at cross-country data, the correlation between GDP and happiness exists only up to a point.
The problem here is that richer may not be happy because they have a lot of stuff. They’re happy because they’re doing better than the rest. Similarly, the poor are unhappy in part not because they lack stuff but because other people are doing better. Inequality, not money, is the issue here. If you look at cross-country data, the correlation between GDP and happiness exists only up to a point.
Virgule, That’s one of those pieces of conventional wisdom that fails to reflect the data. Angus Deaton:
The data are now quite clear. Other things equal, it’s better to be richer.
Virgule, That’s one of those pieces of conventional wisdom that fails to reflect the data. Angus Deaton:
The data are now quite clear. Other things equal, it’s better to be richer.
You you could be right, but correlation is not causation. It could be that more emotionally resilient people tend to be happier people who also tend to earn more money because of their ability to maintain a consistent effort in their endeavors.
Looking at comparisons across nations, it could be that living in a politically and economically more free nation leads to both higher average levels of reported happiness and higher average incomes without the latter necessarily driving the former.
You you could be right, but correlation is not causation. It could be that more emotionally resilient people tend to be happier people who also tend to earn more money because of their ability to maintain a consistent effort in their endeavors.
Looking at comparisons across nations, it could be that living in a politically and economically more free nation leads to both higher average levels of reported happiness and higher average incomes without the latter necessarily driving the former.
Doesn’t this correlation just as likely reflect the fact that happy people are more likely to earn more money? People like working with and promoting happy people.
Happiness strikes me as very genetically determined, with genetically happy people better able to navigate all areas of life, including a successful career.
Doesn’t this correlation just as likely reflect the fact that happy people are more likely to earn more money? People like working with and promoting happy people.
Happiness strikes me as very genetically determined, with genetically happy people better able to navigate all areas of life, including a successful career.
My inner Robert Frank demands I ask if that study took conspicuous consumption into account.
My inner Robert Frank demands I ask if that study took conspicuous consumption into account.
woop woop im gay and happy
woop woop im gay and happy