This Great Graphic is from theEconomist. It is based on the work of two economists, Betsey Stevenson and Justin Wolfers. A recent research paper looks at the relationship between self assessments of one’s well being and the self-reported annual income. For nearly 40 years now the conventional wisdom is that money can’t buy happiness. Stevenson and Wolfers challenges that view. Their work finds that consistently in the various countries they look at people were happier (claimed to have higher levels of “life satisfaction”) as drew higher incomes. Moreover, there does not seem to be a point of diminishing returns: the more income the greater the “life satisfaction” ratings.
If Stevenson and Wolfers are right, poverty is over-rated in the traditional view. Money does buy happiness.