Income and the sense of happiness in the light of empirical research
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.15678/SER.2023.1.01Keywords:
money, income, happiness, well-beingAbstract
Background: This paper examines the role of subjective well-being as a factor motivating people in the Aristotelian and popular economic perspectives. Both imply that at a deeper level, all human endeavours are intended to increase happiness, although the role of utility in decision-making should not be understated.
Research objectives: The primary aim of the study was to determine whether and if so, what links exist between the income levels of the surveyed residents of Świętokrzyskie Voivodship (a province in south-central Poland) and their self-reported sense of happiness.
Research design and methods: The theoretical part of the study draws on a critical literature review, including selected methods for measuring subjective well-being, whereas the empirical one employs a diagnostic survey based on a questionnaire as a research tool. To analyse the data, descriptive statistics were obtained and a correlation study was performed.
Results: Empirical research reveals that respondents with higher incomes report a higher sense of happiness, but only up to PLN 3,000. Further income increases no longer result in proportional increases in perceived happiness.
Conclusions: Awareness of the relationship between income and happiness can affect financial decision-making, including the motivation to ensure material security, which has a positive impact on the overall quality of life.
Downloads
References
Ahuvia, A. C. (2007). Wealth, consumption and happiness. In A. Lewis (Ed.), The Cambridge handbook of psychology and economic behaviour (pp. 493–495). Cambridge University Press.
Ahuvia, A. C. (2008). If money doesn’t make us happy, Why do we act as if it does? Journal of Economic Psychology, 29(4), 491–507.
Ahuvia, A. C. Friedman, D., (1998). Income, consumption and subjective well-being: Toward a composite micromarketing model. Journal of Macromarketing, 18(2), 153–168.
Argyle, M. (1996). Subjective well-being. In A. Offer (Ed.), Pursuit of the quality of life (pp. 18–45), Oxford University Press.
Bruni, L. (2004). The “technology of happiness” and tradition of economic science. Journal of History of Economic Thought, 26(1), 19–44.
Burchardt, T. (2005). Are one man’s rags another man’s riches? Identifying adaptive expectations using panel Data, Social Indicators Research, 74, 57–102.
Csikszentmihalyi, M. (1999). If we are so rich, why aren’t we happy? American Psychologist, 54(10), 821–827.
Csikszentmihalyi, M. (2008). Flow: The psychology of optimal experience. Harper Perennial Modern Classics.
Cummins, R. A. (2000). Personal income and subjective well-being: A review. Journal of Happiness Studies, 1(2), 133–158.
Czapiński, J. (1994). Psychologia szczęścia. Pracownia Testów Psychologicznych. Polskie Towarzystwo Psychologiczne.
Czapiński, J. (2012). Ekonomia szczęścia i psychologia bogactwa. Nauka, 1, 51–88.
Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU). (2005). The Economist Intelligence Unit’s quality-of-life index. https://www.economist.com/media/pdf/QUALITY_OF_LIFE.pdf
Diener, E., & Biswas-Diener, R. (2002). Will money increase subjective well-being? A literature review and guide to needed research. Social Indicators Research, 57(2), 119–169.
Frey, B., & Stutzer, A. (2002). What can economists learn from happiness research? Journal of Economic Literature, 40(2), 402–435).
Heady, B., Muffels, R., & Wooden M. (2004). Money doesn’t buy happiness… or does it? A reconsideration based on the combined effects of wealth, income and consumption. Social Indicators Research, 87(1), 65–82.
Happy Planet Index (HPI). (2019)., About the Happy Planet Index. https://happyplanetindex.org
Johnson, W., & Krueger, R.F. (2006). How money buys happiness: Genetic and environmental processes linking finances and life satisfaction. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 90(4), 680–691.
Kahneman, D., Diener, E., & Schwarz, N. (1999). Well-being: The foundations of hedonic psychology. Russell Sage Foundation.
Kahneman, D., Kruger, A. B., Schkade, D., & Stone, A. (2006). Would you be happier if you were richer? A focusing illusion. Science, 312(5782), 1908–1910.
Kling, A. (2003). Can money buy happiness. Tech Central Station. http://www.techcentralstation.be/040403M.
Krok, E. (2016). Metody pomiaru szczęścia i jego zależność od dochodów. Studia Ekonomiczne, 286, 43–55.
Krueger, A. B., Kahneman, D., Schkade, D., Schwarz, N., & Stone, A. (2009). National time accounting: The currency of life. In A. B. Krueger (Ed.), Measuring the subjective well-being of nations: National accounts of time use and well-being (pp. 9–86). Chicago University Press.
Layard, R. (2002). Happiness: Lessons from a new science. Penguin.
Layard, R. (2003). The secrets of happiness. New Statesman, 3, 25–29.
Lever, J. P. (2004). Poverty and subjective well-being in Mexico. Social Indicators Research, 68, 1–33.
Lyubomirsky, S. (2001). Why are some people happier than others? The role of cognitive and motivational processes in well-being. American Psychologist, 56(3), 239–249.
Mackie, C., & Kamień, A. A. (2013). Subjective well-being: Measuring happiness, suffering and other dimensions of experience. National Academies Press.
OECD (2020). Jak tam życie? 2020: Pomiar dobrobytu. OECD Publishing. https://www.oecd.org
OECD Better Life Index. (n.d.). Life Satisfaction. https://www.oecdbetterlifeindex.org/topics/life-satisfaction/
Reynolds, T., & Gutman, J. (1988). Laddering theory, method, analysis and interpretation. Journal of Advertising Research, 28(1), 11–31.
Rybka, W. (2019). Problem istoty i pomiaru dobrobytu. Zagadnienia Filozoficzne w Nauce, 67, 203–248.
Schyns, P. (2000). Wealth of nations, individual income and life satisfaction in 42 countries: A multilevel approach. In B. Zumbo (Ed.), Advances in Quality of Life Research (pp. 24–25). Springer Publishing.
Statista. (2013). The Economist’s where-to-be-born index 2013, showing the best birthplaces for children as of 2013. https://www.statista.com/statistics/247795/the-economists-where-to-be-born-index/
Tatarkiewicz, W. (2012). O szczęściu. Wydawnictwo Naukowe PWN.
Wąsowicz-Kiryło, G. (2008). Psychologia finansowa. O pieniądzu w życiu człowieka. Difin.
Downloads
Published
Versions
- 2024-01-04 (3)
- 2024-01-04 (2)
- 2023-06-30 (1)
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2023 Social Entrepreneurship Review
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
