Photo: Jose Miguel Sanchez/iStock/Getty Images Plus via Getty Images
What if the secret to happiness was … low expectations?
Most residents of rich, Western countries have relatively high earnings, but many also feel they can’t afford a reasonable lifestyle. Americans, for example, are getting richer but also more unhappy. Meanwhile Eastern Europeans, not generally known for their cheery disposition, are most satisfied with their comparatively lower income.
In 2018, research psychologists at Purdue and the University of Virginia compiled data from previous surveys to estimate how much income people needed to be happy. They found that, even after adjusting for purchasing power, people needed more money in richer countries. Recently the same data was adjusted for inflation and compared to average earnings in each country.
Continue reading the entire piece here at Bloomberg (Paywall)
______________________
Allison Schrager is a senior fellow at the Manhattan Institute, a contributing editor of City Journal.