Det sprids många myter om sambandet mellan inkomst och lycka (se t.ex. här, här, här och här). Det sprids, turligt nog, också många insikter om detta samband. I den nya studien ”Subjective Well-Being, Income, Economic Development and Growth” rapporteras:

We show that richer individuals in a given country are more satisfied with their lives than are poorer individuals, and establish that this relationship is similar in most countries around the world. Turning to the relationship between countries, we show that average life satisfaction is higher in countries with greater GDP per capita. The magnitude of the satisfaction-income gradient is roughly the same whether we compare individuals or countries, suggesting that absolute income plays an important role in influencing well-being. Finally, studying changes in satisfaction over time, we find that as countries experience economic growth, their citizens’ life satisfaction typically grows, and that those countries experiencing more rapid economic growth also tend to experience more rapid growth in life satisfaction. These results together suggest that measured subjective well-being grows hand in hand with material living standards.

Denna sista slutsats tycks mig oerhört viktig. Inte minst resultatet att tillväxt i ekonomiska resurser är positivt relaterad till ökad lycka fann jag intressant (sambandet mellan inkomst och lycka är i huvudsak känt sedan tidigare). I denna figur illustreras hur förändringar i lycka mellan fyra olika vågor av World Values Survey är relaterade till tillväxt i BNP per capita: