ABSTRACT
Most countries have set economic growth as one of their highest priority objectives. Survey evidence, however, suggests that the relationship between income (GDP per capita) and the level of individual self-reported happiness (subjective well-being index) is not linear. Figure 5.1 presents a simple scatter plot of income and happiness for 94 countries from 1952 to 2004. Although there is an increasing trend between happiness and income, we find that after a certain level of income, the marginal utility of income decreases. Simple scatter plot between happiness and real GDP per capita. https://s3-euw1-ap-pe-df-pch-content-public-p.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/9780203097878/c344086c-e276-448f-97cf-7cc964365be3/content/fig5_1_B.tif" xmlns:xlink="https://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"/>
