Does consuming more mean living better?

Does consuming more equate to living better? In 1974, Richard Easterlin noted a puzzle: within a country, richer people were happier, yet average happiness barely moved as countries grew wealthier – and a long argument about the meaning of growth began. However, research based on far larger surveys argues that doubling an income brings a similar gain whether one starts poor or rich, meaning each additional dollar buys less happiness.1source 1

Do the gains ever stop? A study based on about 450,000 survey responses from American residents found that while overall life evaluation rose with income, day-to-day emotional improvement plateaued at about 75,000 dollars a year.2source 2 In 2023, the two sides of the debate analysed the data together and found that for most people, happiness keeps rising with income; the plateau applies only to the least happy fifth of people, beyond about 100,000 dollars.3source 3 Furthermore, how money is spent matters: people spending money on others, as gifts or donations, reported greater happiness than those spending it on themselves.4source 4