The World Values Survey releases its newest rankings, and the results shouldn't be so surprising.
It's amazing how disputed this claim has been for the past 30 odd years.
Does wealth have diminishing marginal returns? Yes. Of course. So does everything else. The question is when those returns become negative. I'm not saying it doesn't exist, but from where I'm sitting, I find it very hard to imagine.
Sometimes researchers can get so lost in the data that they lose all
common sense. In cases like this, it helps to revert to the
micro-level. Does having increased purchasing power make me happier? The only instance I can imagine where this is not the case is for someone who is either
1) extremely religious, and genuinely has a utility function that is opposite of that of the majority of people, or
2) is so indecisive that the increased choice truly causes them harm because it makes it even harder to decide.
Can you think of other instances? Leave them in the comments.
HT: Will Wilkinson
