The wealthy are only a little happier than others. In fact, the elements that seem to generate happiness most consistently are religion and marriage. A study of Illinois lottery winners found that a year after their bonanza, they were no happier, on average, than most people, notes Professor Oswald of Warwick University, near Coventry in Britain. Advertisers, journalists, politicians, and others tell us constantly that better economic performance means more happiness for a nation. But the evidence, he finds, is minimal.
Economic things matter only in so far as they make people happier.
Of course, for poor countries or people, greater income does produce significant and lasting gains in well-being. But in Western industrial nations, prosperity has been rising for a long time without a related increase in happiness. American living standards have also risen enormously. Fewer said they were not too happy in 1990 than in 1972, and more said they are pretty happy. But the very happy group has shifted little.