有錢確實(shí)能買來幸福
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????可以肯定的是，世上有兩種幸福：一種是側(cè)重于日常心情的幸福，另一種則是在世上安身立命的廣義幸福，普林斯頓大學(xué)（Princeton University）經(jīng)濟(jì)學(xué)家安格斯?迪頓和著名的心理學(xué)家丹尼爾?卡納曼將后者稱為“人生評(píng)估”。迪頓和卡納曼在2010年的一項(xiàng)研究中發(fā)現(xiàn)，隨著收入的提高，人們的日常幸福感相應(yīng)增加。不過一旦年收入達(dá)到7萬5千美元，幸福感卻不再上升了。當(dāng)然，這個(gè)臨界值放在紐約市這樣的地方就不那么準(zhǔn)確了。但《紐約時(shí)報(bào)》（New York Times）最近也提出，由于紐約的收入差別很大，中產(chǎn)階級(jí)是個(gè)含糊的概念。 ????盡管如此，迪頓和卡納曼仍然認(rèn)為，人們擁有的財(cái)富越多，越傾向于覺得生活比他人美好。這和攀比的心態(tài)類似：如果我掙得更多，我就能買輛比鄰居更好的車?；蛘呤?，如果我掙得更多，我就能比巴菲特或其他有錢人捐出更多的善款。 ????沃爾弗斯和史蒂文森的研究針對(duì)的是第二種幸福，這時(shí)只要收入增長，滿足感就是無窮的。 ????這種說法很有道理。財(cái)富雖然不能買到所有的幸福，但它是提高生活水平的重要途徑。根據(jù)經(jīng)濟(jì)合作與發(fā)展組織（Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development，簡稱：OECD）的統(tǒng)計(jì)，美國人的平均年收入是37,708美元，遠(yuǎn)高于這個(gè)組織34個(gè)發(fā)達(dá)成員國人均22,387美元的年收入。 ????總體來看，美國在OECD更美好生活指數(shù)（Better Life Index）中的排名相當(dāng)高。這個(gè)指數(shù)根據(jù)國民享受的教育和醫(yī)療等情況來衡量一國居民的幸福感。雖然美國人總體上是幸福的，但就算金錢確實(shí)能買來幸福，仍然有不少美國人不幸福。美國貧富差距相當(dāng)大：最富有的20%的美國人收入是底層20%人的8倍。 ????因此，在追尋幸福的路上，要多關(guān)注內(nèi)心的幸福，而不要與他人比較。這個(gè)道理聽上去顯而易見，有時(shí)卻需要?jiǎng)趧?dòng)一批經(jīng)濟(jì)學(xué)家去驗(yàn)證。（財(cái)富中文網(wǎng)） ????譯者：默默 |
????To be sure, there are two kinds of happinesses: The day-to-day kind that focuses on your daily mood vs. what Princeton University economist Angus Deaton and famed psychologist Daniel Kahneman call "life assessment," which means broader satisfaction with your place in the world. In their 2010 study, they found that day-to-day happiness rises as people earn more money, but once they hit $75,000 a year, they don't get any happier. Admittedly that threshold seems arbitrary in places like New York City, where, as The New York Times recently highlighted, middle-class is a vague class, since incomes there vary so widely. ????Nonetheless, according to Deaton and Kahneman, the more money people have, the more likely they'll feel they have a better life. This taps into the keeping up with the Joneses mindset: If I earn more, I could buy a fancier car than Mr. Jones next door. Or if I earn more, I may be able to donate more of my fortune than Warren Buffett or some other rich person. ????Wolfers's and Stevenson's study speaks to the latter kind of happiness, where fulfillment is infinite so long as your income rises. ????This makes a lot of sense. Money, while it can't always buy happiness, is an important means to achieving higher living standards. In the U.S., the average person earns $37,708 a year, according to the Organisation for Economic Co-Operation and Development. That's more than the average of $22,387 of the OECD's 34-member developed countries. ????Overall, the U.S. ranks pretty high in the OECD's Better Life Index, which measures the happiness of countries based on, among other things, access to education and health care. Though Americans are generally happy, there are still a lot of unhappy folks if money does indeed buy happiness. There's a considerable gap between the richest and poorest -- the top 20% of the population earn about eight times as much as the bottom 20%. ????So if happiness is what you want, look inward, rather than what your neighbors might have. Sounds obvious, but sometimes it takes a team of economists to prove it. |
