Are We Happier When We Have More Money?

Many of us think that more money leads to greater happiness and contentment. As a matter of fact, almost everyone works for money and our job accomplishments are measured in terms of monetary returns. Thus, it seems that in our consumerist society, people are compelled to follow the tenet that luxury is the status symbol of success and prominence. More money means finer cars and houses. The possession of material wealth implies the prospect of more holidays, travel to exotic places and quality entertainment. Lavish consumption somehow pervades as the goal of our economy. Would you deny the fact that having more money enables you and your family to survive the unforeseen financially draining events such as serious illnesses and disasters? And who is in a better position to help the less fortunate? Obviously, these rationalizations account to the pervasive notion that more money brings happiness.

Now, let’s look into some research findings so we can really spot the score:

• Factors predicting the subjective well-being of nations In the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology (1995) indicated that while there is a strong relationship between income and satisfaction at the lower income levels, the relationship becomes insignificant at the higher income level. This suggests that once the income rises above the poverty level, further increase in income does not increase happiness level by any significant level. This also suggests that people in rich nations may not be happier than those in poorer nations. Correlates of financial success as a life aspiration showed that the more a person values money, the less satisfied he will be when he gets it. This suggests that in order to be happy, we need to value money less.
• Using a battery of statistical data from a variety of sources including UNESCO, the CIA, The New Economics Foundation, and the World Health Organization, plus the subjective responses of 80,000 people across 178 countries worldwide, Adrian White, an analytic social psychologist at Leicester developed the first "World Map of Happiness”. The countries that are found happiest are those that are healthy, wealthy, and wise. Smaller countries with greater social cohesion and a stronger sense of national identity tended to score better, while those with the largest populations fared worse. Good health may be the key to happiness, but money helps open the door. While admitting that happiness is subjective, White defends his research on the grounds that his study focused on life satisfaction rather than brief emotional states. The frustrations of modern life, and the anxieties of the age, seem to be much less significant compared to the health, financial, and educational needs in other parts of the world.
• On the World Database of Happiness, which is based on average responses to a question about life-satisfaction, the determinants of happiness include (a) economic development, political democracy and a cultural climate of tolerance, (b) the individual’s position in society; not only the position on the social status ladder, but also inclusion in social networks, (c) psychological strength, assertiveness and self-understanding, (d) sheer good or bad luck.
• Dr. Luisa Corrado, a Marie-Curie fellow at the economics department of Cambridge University in Britain, confirmed through studies and research that our happiness and well-being would be more likely to flourish in a mutually supportive and trusting society. It is not enough for governments to focus on improving wealth and material standards of living. Well-being goes beyond the maximization of each individual's pleasure or wealth. Public contentment is the outcome of individual, social and institutional factors such as social cohesion, an effective welfare state, social mobility, low unemployment, higher income, and less inequality. This is because people measure their satisfaction against the success of others. Here, the individual not only maximizes personal pleasure, but also considers how institutional, environmental, personal and relational factors are affecting his whole life. However, Corrado also observed: "We cannot think about becoming happier forever." In fact, she noted, although people (in advanced countries) are generally much wealthier than their fathers and grandfathers, their levels of happiness are either equal to or below those 50 years ago.

From these studies, happiness or well-being may be considered as an offshoot of a more holistic complementation of factors which include social cohesion, higher income, health & environment, good governance, and psychological vigor. To talk about more money per se as an indicator of happiness is insufficient. As proposed by in 2006 by Med Yones, the President of International Institute of Management, Gross National Happiness as a socioeconomic development metric which is an index function of the total average per capita of the following measures: Economic Wellness, Environmental Wellness, Physical Wellness, Mental Wellness, Workplace Wellness, Social Wellness, and Political Wellness. Also Bhutan’s King Singye Wangchuk coined in his definition of Gross National Happiness that the true development of human society takes place when material and spiritual development occur side by side to harmonize and reinforce each other.

Are we happier then when we have more money? Yes but No. Or we better modify the question. What do you say…