Are you happier the more money you earn? A famous study by psychologist Daniel Kahneman—winner of the Nobel Prize in Economics in 2002—and economist Angus Deaton published in 2010 pointed out that happiness increased in tandem with income until it reached a plateau between US$60,000 and US$90,000 per year, after which the effects were diluted.

These results were contradicted in a new study (https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.2208661120) conducted by Kahneman himself and doctoral student and software expert Matthew Killingsworth, who, after collecting data from more than 33,000 Americans through an app developed by Killingsworth, found that this plateau no longer existed, except for the 20% of respondents who reported being less happy, who reach their limit when they earn $100,000 per year.

For the rest of the study participants, more money means more happiness, and for the happiest 30%, the happiness index accelerates after passing the US$100,000 annual income barrier. The relationship between greater happiness and higher income continues up to US$500,000 per year, after which there is no conclusive data. However, the authors emphasize that the emotional effect of earning more money is small compared to other circumstances, including something as simple as having two days off at the end of the week.