Recent happiness studies show that income explains only 2 per cent of the variance in happiness. Quality-of-life indicators also correlate less with income but more with advances in knowledge at the world level. Individuals and nations still engage in the rat race for higher incomes due to the...

This open access book defines happiness intuitively and explores several common conceptual mistakes with regard to happiness. It then moves on to address topical issues including, but not limited to, whether money can buy you happiness, why happiness is ultimately the only thing of intrinsic...

Economists take preferences as given. This paper analyzes the choice by an individual of her preferences, her attitude towards wealth in particular. Evidence that one?s attitude towards wealth may affect utility and that people can, at least to some extent and at some costs, choose their...

As supported by commonsense and substantial evidence (discussed in Sections 1 and 2), one's attitude toward wealth may affect utility and people can, at least to some extent and at some costs, choose their attitudes. Using a very simple model of attitude choice (Section 3) and analysing the...

Studies by psychologists, sociologists, and economists indicate that increases in incomes beyond about US$4,000 are not related to happiness nor significantly with the objective quality-of-life indicators (which increase with scientific and technological breakthroughs at the global level). Yet...

There is a body of literature that studies how immigrants' earnings change over time relative those of native-born workers -or the extent of catch-up. The quasi-panel approach to the question has been adopted in only a couple of Australian papers.