What Price Happiness?

UK economist Andrew Oswald has put an exact price on happiness: an additional £70,000 a year - far more than most people's annual salary.

Rich people are happier, up to a point. Research shows that some money will bring some happiness, but more money will just bring more money. From poverty-stricken to middle-class there is a marked increase in happiness, but from middle-class to super-rich there's no discernible increase.

Where money can buy you happiness is, basically, if it can keep you ahead of the proverbial Joneses. Why? Because our happiness is all tied up with our status: the more status we have, the happier we are. An increase in serotonin (the brain's "happiness" chemical) doesn't just increase happiness, it also increases energy, health, confidence and social status.

When a high-status male monkey is removed from a troop, its serotonin level drops 50%, and the serotonin level of the male that takes leadership of the troop jumps by over 50%.